


Fruits Basket: Year of the Cat

by aydentheweeb



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: Cat, Gen, Love, Original Character - Freeform, Original Content - Freeform, Other, Protection, South Korea - Freeform, Trigger warning violence, trigger warning abuse, zodiac curse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26158267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aydentheweeb/pseuds/aydentheweeb
Summary: The Sohma family has a huge secret. 12 of the members are possessed by zodiac spirits, a 13th is possessed by the cat spirit and a 14th is God, just like from the old Chinese tales. The God is head of the main family, and rules with an iron and abusive fist. However, there exists 13 branch families in different parts of the world, each having a different zodiac as head. In the Korean family, the cat is head and she rules with understanding. She is now off to the main Japanese family to confront the main head and put an end to their abusive and violent ways.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue and Chapter 1: Departure

**Author's Note:**

> The following is a description of the South Korean head:  
> Name: Park Young-Hee; Meaning: courage and beauty  
> Country of Origin: South Korea  
> Appearance:   
> Clothing: cargo pants, t-shirts, and sneakers or combat boots  
> Description: short red hair, round face, slim but athletic build, chocolate brown eyes, slightly darker tan than is the usual for most Asians   
> Personality: kind, caring, very protective of the zodiacs esp Kyo and Yuki, will take Akito on for everyone else in an instant  
> Part of a branch family in Korea that is dedicated to the cat and treats the cat spirit with honor and dignity, the cat is considered the god there and actually treats the other zodiacs in that family as equals and with respect, basically the cat is the head of the Korean family; came to Japan to live with the main family for some time to ensure everyone’s safety and well-being; Akito dislikes the Korean branch family  
> Powers: is able to transform into a cat at will, tuxedo kitty  
> Companion: always has a cat with her named Nam-Sun (means honesty and purity)

PROLOGUE

In a room of the main estate of the Sohma branch family in South Korea, a young woman sits at her table in the middle of the floor. She appears to be attending to an assortment of notes and letters. There is a multitude of papers and writing utensils all over the table. Suddenly, a small tuxedo cat wanders into the room and climbs on top of the table greatly disturbing the papers and various writing utensils. The young woman looks up from her work and a smile quickly spreads across her face.

—————————————————

“Well, Nam-Sun, you seem quite lively today! Guess you’re looking for a playmate!” the young woman exclaimed with excitement. She looked at the cat lying on the table who seemed to be understanding everything she was saying. 

“Guess I better get into my cat form! I was looking for a chance to take a break from all this doom and gloom paperwork anyway!” The young woman stood up and looked down at herself. She was wearing black cargo pants, a Mazinger (bootleg anime franchise popular in Korea) t-shirt, and a pair of black crew socks. Along with her smartwatch and various bracelets and necklaces she seemed more like a punk than a family head. 

She stretched her arms and legs and yawned. This might be the last chance for some time that she would be able to change into her cat form and freely wander about. She and Nam-Sun were to head out for Japan soon to live with the main Sohma family. In just a few days’ time they would both be on a plane feeling cramped between people. 

People… The thought of having to interact closely with humans made the young woman shiver slightly. Even though she didn’t transform into a cat from being hugged, the thought of being around humans still shook her slightly. 

“MEOW!” Nam-Sun looked up at the young woman as if to break her out of her daydreaming. She really wanted a playmate as well as to dispel her dear friend’s worries for the time being. 

“Okay, alright. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting”, the young woman said. She stretched again and closed her eyes, envisioning her cat form. When she opened her eyes again after a few moments she was on all fours. She had quietly and gracefully transformed into a tuxedo cat. She then ran off with Nam-Sun out of the room and in the direction of the main estate courtyard. 

—————————————————

The Sohma family has a huge secret. Twelve members can transform into the twelve zodiac animals of the old Chinese legend, with a thirteenth member having the role of God and a fourteenth member having the role of the tricked cat spirit. The main family resides in Japan with the person having the role of God be head of the family. 

However, many do not know that there are thirteen branch families, each residing in a different country and each using a different zodiac animal to be head of the family. The branch family of South Korea pays homage to the cat of the Chinese zodiac legend and thus the person who can transform into a cat is always named head of the family. 

There are two huge differences between the main Japanese family and the branch families. The first is what triggers the transformation from human to zodiac spirit and then back to human again. In the main family, the transformation into a zodiac spirit is caused by either being hugged by someone of the opposite sex or being too worn down. They turn back into humans after a random amount of time, completely naked. However, in the branch families the transformation into a zodiac spirit only happens when the person wants to transform. They simply need to close their eyes and envision their zodiac form. When they transform back into humans they must also envision their human form, and they will transform back wearing their clothes. 

The second one is how the head treats the other members of the zodiac. In the Japanese main family, the head, Akito, is feared by all the zodiac members. Akito actively inflicts emotional, psychological and physical injury on the zodiac members. On the other hand, the branch families’ heads share a deep and mutual understanding with the zodiac members and are kind and caring with them. They nurture and care for one another. 

In the South Korean branch family especially, the head ensures that all zodiac members are doing well, both emotionally and physically. She actively keeps good communication with them and will always hear them out and be there for them when they need it. 

For these reasons, the family has decided that it would be best for their head, Park Young-Hee, to go out to the main Japanese Sohma family. With her name meaning courage and beauty, she will need all of her courage in witnessing and putting an end to the destructive forces in the main Japanese family.

CHAPTER 1: DEPARTURE

Young-Hee looked up from her suitcase and sighed heavily. She and Nam-Sun were leaving for Japan in three days and she hardly felt ready. She looked at all the clothes, jewelry and other items she had strewn all over the floor and her tatami mattress. She then looked back at the suitcase she was packing. She’d already packed one suitcase with all her favorite shirts and a duffel bag with all her undergarments, socks, and hats. Now all she needed to do was pack her cargo pants, jewelry, shoes, bathing supplies, and then Nam-Sun’s things. 

Young-Hee sat down on the floor and sighed even heavier. She looked out the window that was just to her left and then at the doorway of her room. ‘Hmm… I wonder if anyone would notice if I disappeared for awhile’, she thought. 

As if knowing her very thoughts a maid walked by the room and paused at her doorway. The maid slightly glared at her and then continued walking. Young-Hee waited for the maid to be out of earshot before chucking slightly. ‘She just looks so funny wearing such traditional looking clothes’, she thought to herself. The maids of the Park estate wore a more modern version of the hanbok. They only wore a traditional looking white jacket with a blue skirt that went down just past the knees. It was more modern yet it still made Young-Hee laugh at times. 

Just after finishing her chuckling, the Park family tiger entered the room. His name was Ha-Jun, meaning great and talented. Ha-Jun stood at around 5’10” and was 28 years old. This made him seven inches taller and three years older than Young-Hee. He was dressed in black ripped skinny jeans, a Cherry Filter band t-shirt, and, like Young-Hee, was adorned in many bracelets and necklaces. His hair was set in a purple dyed mohawk with shaved sides in his natural color. He also didn’t look like someone who belonged to a family of such upstanding. 

“Hey there, head, how’s the packing going?” he asked jokingly. Young-Hee sighed and gestured toward the mess on the floor. “How the hell do you think it’s going?!” she exclaimed, seeming a bit stressed. 

Ha-Jun put his hand on the back of his head and smiled a little. It had been quite some time since he had last seen the head so flustered. The last time this had happened was when she had been told she would be the new head years ago. 

“What are you looking so happy for?” Young-Hee asked, now looking a bit annoyed. Ha-Jun laughed. “I was just thinking about the last time you seemed so flustered, that’s all”, he said as he knelt down on the floor. He started picking up some of the jewelry that lay all over the floor. ‘She must be really worried about something but I can’t really tell what it is’, he thought to himself. 

“Would you mind if I helped you pack? I might be able to help you narrow down what to bring with you”, he said. Young-Hee smiled and got back to work packing, signaling that she had accepted his offer to help. 

—————————————————

The day had finally arrived for Young-Hee and Nam-Sun to leave South Korea behind, board a plane, and go to Japan. The trip was only planned to last a couple months but Young-Hee knew that she could always extend or shorten the trip if she needed to. Still, she could feel her nerves starting to activate as she loaded all her and Nam-Sun’s luggage into the car.

She did a small sigh of relief and looked over at her chauffeur, Ha-Jun. With his help, she was able to mostly finish packing three days ago and he had even helped her do her laundry this morning to finish the loose ends of the packing. He looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile. He had offered to take her and Nam-Sun to the airport because he knew his presence would help their nerves.

‘She looks so worried and nervous, I hope the two of them will be okay on the plane’, he thought. He thought for another moment about what encouraging words he could offer. 

“Don’t worry, Young-Hee, everything will be alright. You know you can come home any time you want, call us any time, and that I’ll be looking after everyone while you’re away. Nothing will go wrong here!” he said. Young-Hee looked up at him and managed a smile somehow. ‘Damn it! He knows I’m worried and nervous! I didn’t want him to know but now he does! What should I do?’ she thought to herself desperately.

She made her smile look even happier and brighter before speaking, “I’m not worried or anything, promise! I’m just excited for this new adventure!”

Ha-Jun smiled back, deciding not to push the issue further. “Okay, let’s get Nam-Sun into her carrier and get you both to the airport”, he said. With that, both he and Young-Hee walked back into the main estate.

—————————————————

The airport was filled with people and Young-Hee immediately felt overwhelmed, nervous, and dizzy. ‘Man, I really wish Ha-Jun could come with us. Too bad he has to look after everyone because he’s the tiger’, she thought. She looked back up at Ha-Jun, who looked back at her with a reassuring smile. He would be with them as long as he could, even walking them up to the terminal and seeing them board the plane.

“Just take a deep breath and try to relax. You don’t want Nam-Sun feeding off your nervous energy and having issues, too”, he whispered to her. He gently squeezed her hand as they wrangled a couple of carts for the luggage. 

After getting the luggage on the carts and Nam-Sun’s carrier slung on her shoulder, Young-Hee and Ha-Jun continued on to the check in point at the airport. They were both patted down and went through the metal detector. Nam-Sun and her carrier were carefully inspected, and her vet records were also looked at. As soon as all three were cleared to move forward, Young-Hee sat down on a nearby bench and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad we got that all done and over with”, she sighed. She had forgotten how nervous and worried she was while going through security. 

She then looked up at Ha-Jun. “Hey, how did you get clearance to come in this far and even see us board the plane? I thought people without a ticket weren’t able to do that”, she said, looking at him curiously.

He snickered a little and smiled. “Let’s just say I know a few people who work at this airport and they were able to pull a few strings for us”, he said. Young-Hee didn’t know exactly what that meant but she didn’t want to question it either. She felt safest with Ha-Jun around. He was like her safety blanket, always so warm, comforting and protective.

Ha-Jun looked around the airport while Young-Hee was caught up in her daydreaming again. He’d only been in an airport a few times before but hadn’t had the time to look at all the shops and restaurants like he did now. He looked down at Young-Hee and thought about what to do now. They had a couple hours before boarding was to begin, and they needed to kill some time.

Seeing a convenience store nearby reminded Ha-Jun that they needed something to eat. He nudged Young-Hee, “Hey, there’s a convenience store over there, we should go get some lunch and find the pet walking area. I’m sure Nam-Sun wants to get out and stretch her legs.” 

Young-Hee nodded and they left for the convenience store. After getting some Kimbap, they asked the employee if they knew where the pet walking area was located. The employee told them where to go and then thanked them for their business.

As soon as they arrived at the pet walking area, Young-Hee and Ha-Jun walked to one of the rooms designated with a cat sign. Once inside, Young-Hee and Ha-Jun sat down on a bench. Young-Hee set the carrier down on the ground and opened it to let Nam-Sun out. She set down a food and water bowl as well.

“I’m actually pretty nervous about seeing the main Japanese family. I’ve heard some really awful rumors about the head and it scares me that I’ll have to go up against that”, Young-Hee said, her nerves building.

“Oh, um, what kind of rumors?” Ha-Jun asked. He was genuinely curious as a lot of information about the main Japanese family hadn’t been shared with him yet.

Young-Hee looked up at Ha-Jun and nervously swallowed her Kimbap. “Well, I’ve heard the head of the main family likes to torment the zodiac members emotionally, psychologically, and physically”, she said.

Ha-Jun paused mid bite and immediately felt his nerves going off. “Has the head ever physically hurt someone really badly?” he asked. He tried to finish chewing and swallowing his food but the feelings of dread that were beginning to come over him wouldn’t go away.

Young-Hee sighed and sat up straight before answering, “Yes, he’s put at least two of the girls in the hospital. One he threw out a second floor window and the other he badly damaged her eye. He also badly injured an eye of one of the guys.”

Ha-Jun slowly turned to look at Young-Hee. He slightly and silently gasped as he saw her reaction to her own words. She was shaking and clenching her fists together tightly. She didn’t seem nervous to him, more angry actually.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay facing this head? They seem really dangerous. I’m worried for you and for Nam-Sun”, Ha-Jun said.

“Oh don’t worry about me. I won’t be staying in the main estate. There’s a dojo there run by a Sohma who knows of the curse. He is actually the foster father to the cat spirit there so it’s the perfect fit for us”, Young-Hee said with a smile on her face.

“Okay, but if anything happens to you just call me. I’ll get you out of there real quick”, Ha-Jun said. He was suddenly feeling even more protective of her than ever before.

“Sure thing! You know I’ll probably call you guys everyday regardless! I’m going to miss all of you a lot”, Young-Hee said. She felt even more determined than before to go to Japan and put the reins on the head there.

—————————————————

“Now boarding South Korea to Japan, Flight Number 511!” A woman shouted on the overhead speaker system. 

Young-Hee, Ha-Jun, and Nam-Sun had made it to the terminal area with about a half hour to spare. Nam-Sun had gone to the bathroom in the pet walking area, as well as eaten some food. She now seemed comfortable in her pet carrier sleeping the day away.

Young-Hee looked back at Ha-Jun nervously as she wheeled her other carry-on bag into the terminal hallway with her.

She ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. “I’ll call you as soon as I get there”, she said. And then she and Nam-Sun disappeared into the terminal hallway to board their plane.

Ha-Jun smiled and waved as she disappeared down the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight, he took out his cell phone and called the main Park estate.

“She and Nam-Sun have successfully boarded the plane”, he reported. He then hung up and walked out of the airport.

As he exited the airport, he saw Young-Hee’s plane take off and soar just above his head. “Good luck, head. You’ll need all the luck you can get”, he muttered.

—————————————————

The plane was just as crowded and stuffy as Young-Hee thought it would be. She was lucky enough to be able to get an entire row all to herself. ‘Well gotta thank this for being part of such an upstanding family’, she thought.

She was sitting in the middle seat and had placed Nam-Sun’s carrier in the window seat. She sighed and looked out the window of the plane. ‘Man, I hope Akito isn’t as bad as everyone says he is’, she thought. She looked over at Nam-Sun who was still sleeping happily in her carrier.

Just then an announcement came over the plane’s intercom system: “Please put on your seatbelts and secure all carry-ons in the appropriate storage sites. The plane is about to take off.”

‘Well guess it’s that time.’ Young-Hee quickly buckled and adjusted her seatbelt. Then she buckled and adjusted a seatbelt over Nam-Sun’s carrier. She also took the shoulder strap and strung it over her shoulder, and placed her hand firmly on the hand strap of the carrier.

The plane buckled and shook violently as it took off. Young-Hee gripped the carrier even tighter. ‘I hope Nam-Sun isn’t feeling too stressed out about this take off.’ She looked inside the carrier again and, to her relief, saw that Nam-Sun was still fast asleep.

—————————————————

The plane was now silently soaring through the skies toward Japan. Young-Hee looked at the time on her phone as she listened to music through her headphones.

The time read 17:00. ‘Just one more hour until we land in Japan.’

Young-Hee had been listening to music and playing games on her phone the first thirty minutes of the flight. But now she was bored and wanted something else to do. She went into her Netflix app and looked at all the movies and series she had downloaded for offline viewing.

‘Ah, this one is good!’ She tapped on an Inuyasha movie and started watching. 

She had glanced over at Nam-Sun’s carrier frequently throughout the flight to make sure the cat was coping well. She felt relieved that the cat had been fast asleep or grooming herself every time. 

She looked at the time again. 17:15. Still another forty-five minutes to go.

She couldn’t wait to land and see who was picking her up. She had gone through the files on the main family’s zodiac and other important members. She pulled out the files again to browse through them while the movie played in the background.

Yuki Sohma, year of the rat and closest to Akito. Hatori Sohma, year of the dragon, Sohma family doctor and a favorite of Akito’s. Shigure Sohma, year of the dog and a sneaky fellow. So on and so forth went the documents as she flipped through them.

Then she stopped dead. It was him. The one she had come to protect the most. Kyo Sohma. Year of the Cat. His mother had committed suicide when he was just a kid. His actual father had been abusive. The entire family shunned him on Akito’s orders. The only person to care about him was Kazuma Sohma, the man who owned and lived at the dojo she would be staying at.

‘Ah, very interesting. I must get to the bottom of things here and quickly’, she thought to herself.

Just then another announcement played over the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen, please buckle up. We are about to land. And welcome to Japan.”

“This is it! I’m excited!” Young-Hee exclaimed as she buckled both herself and Nam-Sun’s carrier up.

The plane jumped and shook violently as it landed. Young-Hee gripped her seat and the carrier with an iron fist.

Then she felt the smooth gliding of the plane on the ground. The voice came back over the intercom once more: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have now safely arrived in Japan. You may now unbuckle your seatbelts. Welcome to Japan, have a great time while you’re here!”


	2. Welcoming Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee and Nam-Sun have finally arrived in Japan! They are picked up by three mysterious men and taken to their lodgings where they meet another mystery person!

Young-Hee sighed, unbuckled both her and Nam-Sun’s seatbelts, and got up to stretch. ‘This flight felt longer than expected.’ She picked up the cat carrier and slung it over her shoulder, then grabbed her other carry-on bag from the cubby above her.

She then walked down the aisle of the plane and into the terminal hallway. All the way she thought about who might be picking her and Nam-Sun up. All the arrangements had been made for her and she hadn’t thought to ask about who was getting her once she arrived in Japan. ‘I’m so stupid, why didn’t I ask about who was getting us? I hope they have a sign or something, otherwise I’ll never find them.’

As she exited the terminal hallway and entered the terminal waiting area in the Japan airport, a small group of strangers immediately caught her eye. It was a group of three men, and they were all exceptionally beautiful.

All three were quite tall, actually reminding Young-Hee of Ha-Jun. ‘Oh shoot, I can’t forget to let him know that I just landed’, she thought. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and shot Ha-Jun and the other zodiac members back home a group text: “I made it to Japan safely, Nam-Sun slept the whole way through, hope you’re all having fun. Miss you!” She then slipped her phone back into her pocket and looked back up at the men again.

One of them seemed to be waving at her, as if to tell her they were the ones sent to pick her up. ‘Wow, it really is true. The Sohma men of the main family are also quite beautiful’, she thought to herself. 

The one waving was wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and a black tie. His hair was average length for a guy except that some of his bangs covered one of his eyes. A second man standing next to him had long white hair that ran almost down to his bottom. He wore a bright red outfit and his eyes almost seemed to sparkle. The third man was wearing a more traditional-looking Japanese kimono and had a bit of an evil sparkle in his eyes. His hair was dark and pretty average length.

Young-Hee gasped in shock and stood still as a statue. She had already been struck in awe by these three men and now she had begun to recognize who they were. ‘It’s Hatori, year of the dragon; Ayame, year of the snake; and Shigure, year of the dog’, she thought.

She quickly walked toward the three men, still in shock. As she got closer to them, she realized that Ayame was whispering excitedly to Shigure and that Hatori was trying his best not to seem annoyed. 

“Hello there! I’m Park Young-Hee. I’m the head of the branch family in Korea, it’s very nice to meet you all”, Young-Hee said as she bowed. Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure looked at her a bit surprised but bowed back to her.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Hatori”, Hatori said.

“Ooh why helloooo there! Aren’t you a pretty little thing? I’m Shigure”, Shigure sang. He whipped out a fan and began fanning himself off, as if introducing himself had made him a bit tired.

“AND YOU MAY CALL ME AYA, OH THE STARS AND HEAVENS HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE TO US.” Ayame’s introduction was so loud and dramatic that even Young-Hee had to cover her ears.

“Alright, alright, Ayame, calm down. We need to get her luggage and get her to Kazuma’s place”, Hatori scolded. Ayame looked slightly surprised but calmed down a bit.

Young-Hee, feeling tired from just the introductions, hobbled away toward the area to claim her luggage. The three Sohma men followed closely behind, all the while with Shigure and Ayame whispering to each other and giggling excitedly.

As her luggage rolled forth on the conveyor belt, both Hatori and Shigure grabbed it and put it in a small pile. After all her luggage was taken off the belt, she and the three Sohma men each picked a couple suitcases up and began wheeling them toward the exit of the airport.

As they exited the airport, Hatori began leading the small and unusual looking party toward a couple of black cars in the parking lot. At one of the black cars, a young man was leaning on the hood and humming to himself. He was a bit shorter than the three Sohma men and was wearing a karate outfit. His hair was a brownish-gray color and parted evenly. 

As he saw the group come closer, he smiled and waved at Young-Hee. “Hello, you must be Young-Hee! My name is Kunimitsu and I help Kazuma Shisho run the dojo. It's very nice to meet you”, he said bowing to her.

Young-Hee was a bit shocked to see this man but bowed back and said, “Thank you for coming out to get me, Kunimitsu. It is an honor to meet you as well.”

Seeing her shocked look, Kunimitsu tried to explain himself: “I’m so sorry I’m wearing this, I just came from teaching a class at Kazuma’s dojo and didn’t have time to change.”

Young-Hee smiled and said, “Oh it’s alright, I just wasn’t expecting so many people coming to get me today.”

Kunimitsu smiled, took out his keys, and unlocked his car. “We figured you might be coming with a lot since you’ll be staying with us awhile, so we planned accordingly”, he said.

Hatori took out his keys and also unlocked his car. “You’ll probably be able to fit half your luggage in my car, and half in his car”, Hatori said.

Young-Hee smiled and, with the help of the guys, was able to fit all her luggage between the two cars. She then got into the front passenger seat of Kunimitsu’s car, as she really needed a break from the Sohma men already.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll lead the way to Kazuma Shisho’s place”, Kunimitsu said, smiling. Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure nodded and got into their car. Kunimitsu fired up the engine and drove out of the parking lot, with the other car not too far behind.

—————————————————

As the cars pulled up toward the Sohma main gates, Nam-Sun started meowing and crying quite loudly signaling that she wanted out of her carrier. Young-Hee hugged the carrier a bit and attempted to soothe her cat, “Hush now, baby, we’re almost there. I’ll let you out in just a few minutes.”

Kunimitsu smiled and said, “Don’t worry, miss. We’ll be pulling up to the dojo in a minute!”

The Sohma main gates then opened and the cars drove in, passing by many small, traditional looking Japanese homes. Young-Hee stared in awe as they passed by trying to imagine how each house must have looked on the inside.

Kunimitsu looked over at her and smiled. “Those houses are where the outside family lives”, he explained. Young-Hee looked over at him and nodded. ‘This is pretty extensive, we don’t really have this back home.’ (In the Korean branch family, there is no inside and outside family set up; everyone knows about the “curse” and who the zodiacs are.)

Young-Hee continued staring out the window until they pulled up to the dojo. It was quite a large building with a smaller home unit attached to the back of it. Kunimitsu pulled the car over near the home unit attached and parked.

Waiting outside was a man with long brown hair tied up in a loose ponytail. He was wearing a blue kimono and had kind-looking eyes. Young-Hee noticed that he was similar in height to the Sohma men she had met at the airport. 

As she got out of the car, the man came over and opened the back door grabbing some of her luggage. He looked up at her, bowed, and introduced himself, “Hello, Miss Park. I’m Kazuma, I run the dojo attached to my home. I hope you’ll like it here.”

Young-Hee smiled, bowed back, and said, “Thank you very much for having us, Kazuma.”

Kazuma smiled and, noticing Nam-Sun’s carrier, said, “Why don’t you go into the house and make yourselves comfortable? I’m sure after your long journey that your cat will want to get out of her carrier and stretch her legs.”

Young-Hee smiled, thanked Kazuma again, and hurried into the house. She went into the living room area and put the carrier down on the floor. “Alright, time to stretch! Sorry I kept you waiting so long!” she said as she unzipped the door.

Nam-Sun ran out, shook herself off, and sat down. She began licking one of her front paws as she took in her new surroundings. Kazuma’s home seemed to be pretty simple and had a very basic setup. Living room, kitchen, and a couple of bedrooms along with what appeared to be a guest room set up for Young-Hee and Nam-Sun.

Young-Hee and Nam-Sun immediately went to the guest room to check things out. It had a rolled up tatami mat, some blankets and pillows, a dresser and a small table inside. ‘Hmm… very nice, reminds me of home.’

Just then a beeping noise came from her pocket. She took out her cell phone and realized she had notifications. It was from the zodiac members back at home. They had all texted her back.

She unlocked her phone and went to the group message. Each member had something to say:  
Ha-Jun, of course, was the first to reply, “Glad to know you two landed safely, missing you already!”

Young-Hee smiled as she flipped through the replies from the other members. They were all glad the two had arrived safely, and were also missing them. ‘Gee, I’m already starting to miss them.’

Just as she began lamenting about home, she heard a small crashing noise. She looked around, alarmed, as a young man with bright orange hair stumbled into the home through the dojo. He was wearing a karate outfit and had a sharp look to his eyes. 

As soon as the young man saw Young-Hee, a look of surprise crossed over his face and he immediately went into the kitchen. Young-Hee could hear him rifling through the contents of the fridge as he yelled out, “Hey, Shisho, you don’t have any food in here again! Did you forget to go grocery shopping this morning!?”

When the young man failed to hear an answer, he grunted in frustration and slammed the fridge door shut. “Nevermind, I’ll go grocery shopping myself!” he yelled as he stormed over to his bedroom down the hall.

Just then Kazuma entered the home. “Oh, was that Kyo?” he asked as he looked around.

“Kyo! Kyo! Come out of your room and introduce yourself to our guest, please! She came all the way from South Korea to visit us!” he called out.

“I don’t care! I hate girls! They’re disgusting!” Kyo yelled angrily from his room.

“That’s not very nice to say! Come out, apologize and properly introduce yourself, Kyo!” Kazuma cried out.

“I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse my TROUBLESOME SON, he’s a bit rough on the edges”, Kazuma said, emphasizing some of what he was saying.

Young-Hee looked from Kazuma to the closed bedroom door down the hall repeatedly, and in shock. ‘This is it, I can’t believe I’ve just met the Year of the Cat, Kyo. And he’s as mean to girls as they say.’

“KYOOOO!” Kazuma screamed to the closed bedroom door once again.

“Shut it! I’m coming out now! I just had to get changed so I could do the grocery shopping, Shisho!” Kyo yelled as he exited his bedroom.

As Kyo walked down the hall, Kazuma clapped his hands together. “Well now, this is perfect! Kyo, why don’t you take Young-Hee with you? You can show her some sights and talk on the way.”

“WHAT!?” Both Kyo and Young-Hee stood there in shock for a moment.

“Well you two better get going otherwise…” Kazuma trailed off as his stomach began growling.

“Alright, fine. Let’s go”, Kyo grumbled as he grabbed Young-Hee’s hand and led her out the door.


	3. The Convenience Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee and Kyo are about to go to the convenience store!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Note: This chapter will be using a couple different perspectives once we get to the convenience store! Young-Hee’s perspective is labeled and separated appropriately, so you will be able to follow along easily!!

Young-Hee stared at Kyo in awe as he led her through a small shortcut near the dojo and out of the Sohma estate. ‘He’s so beautiful’, she thought to herself. There were many things she wanted to ask him, and many things she wanted to know. But she figured it might be best to just try and get to know one another a bit first.

After thinking for another moment Young-Hee said, “Hi, Kyo, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m Young-Hee and I’m the head of the Korean branch of the family.” She tried to make her words, smile, and voice seem as open and friendly as possible. She didn’t want Kyo to get mad or clam up on her.

Kyo scowled as he walked, with his head down and his hands in his pockets. ‘Oh no, did I say something wrong? Why is he mad?’

After another minute of scowling, Kyo looked up and almost growled, “So are you here to help lock me up too or what?”

As he continued scowling at Young-Hee, his expression suddenly changed. He looked shocked and like he was ashamed of himself for getting mad.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Kyo? Why do you look so…” Young-Hee suddenly felt tears streaming down her face and realized that she, too, was wearing a shocked expression. ‘Why am I crying?’

She suddenly realized that she was crying because Kyo thought she had come to help Akito lock him up after high school. She almost shuddered at the thought and then she started feeling confused. ‘Does Kyo not know about the Korean branch family and why I’m here?’

Young-Hee quickly wiped away her tears and looked up at Kyo. She brushed her hair to the side and asked him, “Hey, Kyo, do you know anything about the Korean branch family? Do you know anything about why I’m here visiting the main family right now?”

Kyo looked down at Young-Hee with a small expression of surprise. However, he quickly wiped it off his face before speaking, “Well I don’t really know anything about your family. I don’t even know why you’re here. Shisho probably tried to tell me but I probably wasn’t really listening.”

“Oh, well I guess that’s to be expected”, Young-Hee said. She realized that she and Kyo had stopped walking, and she quickly started walking again. Kyo took the hint and began walking again in front, leading the way.

“Well, would you like to hear about it? I can tell you as soon as we get back to Kazuma’s with the groceries”, she said.

“Yea, that sounds good”, Kyo said.

“Alright, then. After we finish the grocery shopping I will tell you everything back at Kazuma’s place”, she said.

—————————————————

As they approached the convenience store, Young-Hee’s eyes lit up. Kyo looked down at her and tried to stifle his laugh. ‘Why is she staring at the convenience store like it’s a palace or something?’ he thought to himself.

“Woah, this is amazing! So this is what a convenience store really looks like!” Young-Hee exclaimed. Her eyes had lit up even brighter than before and her smile was huge, going from ear to ear.

This time Kyo let out a small laugh before asking, “Haven’t you ever been to a convenience store before? Don’t they have them in Korea, too?”

Young-Hee looked up at Kyo and a small frown appeared to replace the smile. “Well, I’ve actually never really done any grocery shopping before. I haven’t really seen convenience stores in person, just on TV and the internet”, she admitted.

“Oh.” Kyo didn’t know what else to say. ‘How is it even possible that she’s never been to a convenience store before? Didn’t she ever get out at all in Korea?’ he thought to himself.

After a moment, both Kyo and Young-Hee were able to regain their composure.

Kyo took Young-Hee by the hand and led her inside the convenience store. Even though it appeared to be small from the outside, the inside told a different story. There was a pretty vast center section of aisles filled with different packaged foods. The perimeter section was stock piled with various fresh fruits and vegetables. The meat and fish section also seemed to have a good selection. 

As he picked up a basket and began shopping, Young-Hee let go of his hand and started darting around the store. As Kyo shopped and placed various items in his basket, he tried to keep an eye on Young-Hee. She was spending the shopping trip darting in and out of every aisle, checking out everything in the convenience store. Kyo saw her pull her phone out several times to take photos. ‘This is way worse than being forced to take Kagura with me’, he thought.

—————————————————  
The Convenience Store through Young-Hee’s Eyes:

As soon as they arrived at the convenience store, Young-Hee looked up at the building in awe. She had never been to one in person before because, as the head of the Korean family, the servants and other attendants had always done the grocery shopping for her. All she had to do was make a list of what she needed and off they had gone. It made her sad to think that Japan would be when she actually experienced a convenience store for the first time. 

Kyo was staring at her as if he were shocked by the fact she had never been to a convenience store before. She smiled knowing that he still didn’t know she was a head of a Sohma branch family. ‘Oh, he’ll understand once we’re back at Kazuma’s and I’ve explained everything to him.’

As she was in mid-thought, Kyo grabbed her hand and led her inside the convenience store. Once inside, Young-Hee’s eyes opened even wider with awe. The place was just simply amazing! It was one thing to see a convenience store on TV or through the internet, but another thing entirely to see it in person!

The aisles in the center of the store seemed neat, orderly, and organized into categories of similarity. The fresh fruits and vegetables looked too delicious to be real. The meat and seafood section looked neat and orderly, and a delicious smell seemed to be wafting up through the packaging. It was almost beckoning her to come closer.

She let go of Kyo’s hand, took out her cell phone, and began darting to and fro about the store. She snapped photos as she went along, exploring every nook and cranny. ‘This is so amazing, amazing, amazing!’ She was practically screaming to herself she was so happy.

As she passed by the fresh fruits and vegetables to take photos of the meat and seafood section, something caught her eye to her right. She looked over and gasped with complete and utter excitement.

“BENTO BOXES!” Young-Hee exclaimed as she rushed over. The bento boxes, onigiri, and other prepared meals and snacks looked so delicious. Young-Hee’s mouth began slightly watering and she quickly snapped several photos before pausing and pondering for a moment.

‘Hmm… what should I do? Should I buy some bento boxes to try them out over the next few days?’ She put her hand to her chin to think for another moment. ‘Aha, I shall!’ With that, she hurriedly picked out several bento boxes and then ran back over to Kyo.

‘I just have to show him what I’ve found! This trip really has been so exciting!’ Young-Hee thought to herself.

—————————————————

Just as he was in mid-thought, Young-Hee dashed up to Kyo. She threw her arms around him and smiled. For a moment, Kyo gasped and thought he might transform. But then he sighed, realizing that she was a zodiac member so he wouldn’t transform if she hugged him.

“What’s up with you?” Kyo asked. As he turned to face her, he stopped for a moment in disbelief. Young-Hee was smiling, with some bento boxes in her hands. 

“Look what I found! Real bento boxes! Isn’t this awesome!? We just have to buy some!”

“Alright, alright, put them in the basket, we can get them”, Kyo said, smiling. Young-Hee carefully and excitedly placed the bento boxes in the shopping basket.

Kyo smiled and thought, ‘She reminds me a lot of Tohru. She is such a ditz. I bet they would get along really well.’

“Alright, I’m all done shopping so let’s check out and get back to Shisho’s”, Kyo said as he turned toward the check out area. Young-Hee nodded and followed him.


	4. Dinner at Kazuma’s

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee explains her purpose for visiting the main family over dinner, with a special guest!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: This chapter may sound redundant from the prologue but please bare in mind that this is the first time that the characters are being told this!!

The walk back to Kazuma’s from the convenience store was quiet. Both Kyo and Young-Hee had tired themselves out from the walk to the convenience store, and from the shopping experience.

Young-Hee and Kyo were each carrying about 4 bags of groceries. Young-Hee, even though she was tired and felt like her arms were about to fall off, smiled. She had been having so much fun in Japan since her arrival that afternoon. She couldn’t wait to text Ha-Jun the photos from the convenience store and let him know about the experience. ‘I’ll have to video chat him later tonight! I’m sure he’ll put the others on and we can all have a blast!’

Young-Hee smiled a little more as she lost herself in thought, thinking about what her zodiac members might be doing right now. The younger ones were probably home now, eating dinner or doing their homework. The older ones were probably just getting home from work, and getting into their casual wear. ‘Ah, I do miss everyone a little right now’, she thought to herself.

Young-Hee was so lost in thought that she didn’t even realize she and Kyo had entered the Sohma estate and were walking toward Kazuma’s. She didn’t realize they were back until Kyo turned around and put his hand on her head. 

“Hey, Young-Hee, you’re gonna trip up the stairs”, Kyo said as he tapped her on the head with his hand.

Young-Hee looked up at Kyo, then all around her. She scratched her head and a puzzled look came across her face. ‘What? When did we get back?’

“Oh my, we’re back already? When did that happen?” she asked, scratching her head and giggling.

Kyo looked at her and laughed. “Wow, you really are spacey”, he said.

“Ahaha yeah, you’re right about that. Back home, Ha-Jun used to really get on me for that”, Young-Hee said, laughing.

“Wow, are you two back already?” Kazuma walked outside toward Young-Hee and Kyo. He paused for a moment when he saw the two of them joking around and laughing with one another. He smiled as it made him overjoyed to see Kyo happy.

Kyo turned around to face Kazuma and laughed slightly before saying, “Shisho, why are you smiling like that? It’s so embarrassing.”

Kazuma laughed slightly and responded, “I just love seeing my troublesome son smiling and having a good time. Is that really so embarrassing?”

Kyo playfully pouted slightly and then tried to change the subject by saying, “Hey, Shisho, would you mind helping Young-Hee bring in her portion of the groceries? She looks like her arms are about to fall off or something.”

This prompted Kazuma to look past Kyo over to Young-Hee, which caused him to laugh again. ‘It really does look like she’s about to lose her arms. I should help her’, he thought.

“Young-Hee, let me take a couple bags from you”, Kazuma said, walking over to her.

“Oh, um, okay, uh, thanks”, Young-Hee replied as she handed Kazuma 2 of the bags she had been carrying. Now relieved of such a heavy weight, she sighed. ‘Those were a lot heavier than I originally thought.’

“Wow, these sure are heavy. Just what did you two buy at the store?” Kazuma asked.

Kyo scoffed a little before replying, “Don’t blame me. She just had to buy all those bento boxes and onigiri. You’d think she’s never been out to a convenience store in her life.”

Young-Hee felt a little sad and embarrassed. ‘Did I really buy that much? Maybe I overdid it a bit.’

“I’m sorry, Kyo, I didn’t mean to make us buy so much”, she apologized.

Kyo looked over to Young-Hee and noticed that it looked almost as if she would start crying any second. ‘Oh crap! Not again!’

“No, no! It’s okay! I shouldn’t have gotten annoyed with you!” Kyo tried quickly apologizing. ‘I don’t want to make her cry!’

Sensing the building tension in his front yard, Kazuma made a quick decision in clapping his hands together before saying, “Alright then! Let’s get these groceries put away and get dinner going! Kyo, what are you making for us tonight?”

Kyo scoffed then laughed, “Shisho, you’re always so bad at cooking that I have to do it every time I’m over! I guess we can have some curry!”

—————————————————

Young-Hee sat at the table in the middle of the living area, watching Kazuma hand plates to a very plain looking teenage girl with long brown hair. She took note that the girl’s brown hair was slightly tied back with a blue ribbon and that her personality seemed to fit that of a very hard worker. This girl was none other than the famed Tohru Honda she’d heard all about back home.

‘So this is Tohru Honda, the one who is trying to break the curse of the main Sohma family. It would be a good idea to become her friend and find out what she knows’, Young-Hee thought.

As Tohru and Kazuma finished setting the table for four, Kyo came in from the kitchen. He had a hand towel draped over one of his shoulders and was holding a ladle in his hand. It made Young-Hee giggle because she thought he looked more like a housewife than a tough karate guy.

“Dinner’s ready, I’ll bring it out”, he said. He then turned back toward the kitchen to get the pot from the stove. Young-Hee could have sworn that she saw him and Tohru look at each other as he turned.

“Wait, Kyo! I’ll help you bring the food out!” Tohru called out. However, Kyo was already back in the living area with the curry in a large serving bowl with a ladle in it.

“Don’t sweat it, Tohru. Just sit down. You can help me serve it”, he replied as he set the serving bowl on the table.

Young-Hee clapped her hands together and said, “Thank you for the meal, Kyo! It looks delicious! Let’s dig in!”

“Hey, that’s my line”, Kyo said jokingly as he served Tohru. Tohru then took the ladle from him and served Young-Hee, then Kazuma, and finally Kyo.

—————————————————

After taking a few bites, Kyo and Kazuma looked up from their bowls and looked at Young-Hee. Young-Hee nodded, as she knew it was time for her to talk about her true purpose in coming here.

“Uh, is it alright that Tohru is here?” Kyo asked. He had become slightly worried. He didn’t want to keep dragging Tohru into his problems.

“It’s alright that she’s here. In fact, I have things I would like to discuss with her as well, if that’s alright with you, Tohru”, she said, turning to face Tohru who was sitting next to her.

Tohru looked up from her curry and then sat up straight before replying, “That’s alright with me!”

“Alright well I guess I’ll start by more formally introducing myself. My name is Young-Hee of the Park clan. We are a branch family of the Sohmas residing in South Korea, to be more specific our estate is located in the capital city of Seoul. Kyo, Kazuma, do you know anything about the Park clan and the other branch families?” Young-Hee said, looking across the table at the two.

“I don’t know anything about you guys or the other branch families at all. It’s not something I really pay attention to”, Kyo admitted.

“Well I do know of the branch families and that there are 13, each residing in a different country. However, other than that I don’t know anything”, Kazuma replied.

“Well, I guess that is to be expected here. Akito probably ordered everyone not to say much about us. I’ll continue then with a further explanation of the branch families. There are, as Kazuma has said, 13 branch families each residing in a different country or part of the world. But what you don’t know is that each branch family is dedicated to a specific zodiac animal, and whomever is born as that zodiac animal is considered head of the family. Now what do you think so far?” Young-Hee said, this time turning to Tohru.

Tohru, like Kyo and Kazuma, had been eating her curry and listening to Young-Hee with great intensity. She now looked up and suddenly felt a bit nervous. ‘What do I think of all this?’

“Well, um, I think that sounds wonderful! Although I really hope that there is a branch family honoring the year of the cat!” Tohru replied with a determined look on her face.

Young-Hee smiled and giggled before replying, “Well, I’m certainly glad you said that. It makes me really happy to hear that, Tohru!”

Everyone looked at Young-Hee with a look of total confusion. ‘Ah, so they don’t really know who I am’, she thought to herself.

Young-Hee clapped her hands together before continuing, “The branch family in South Korea honors the year of the cat. Now, Kyo, what do you think about that?”

Young-Hee looked across the table toward Kyo who seemed much more than slightly interested at this point. He also seemed a bit surprised. ‘Hmm… just as I thought’, Young-Hee thought.

‘Well, I guess I better just peel the band-aid right off on this one, it’ll be for the best.’

“Everyone, I am the year of the cat. I am the head of the South Korean branch family”, she said, looking around the table to check out everyone’s reactions. Tohru looked so happy that she might just die right on the spot. Kyo looked both surprised and confused at the same time. And Kazuma just had a look of pure fatherly delight.

“Wait, wait, wait! Wait a minute! What’s that even supposed to mean?!” Kyo had regained his composure and was trying to make sense of what he had just been told. 

Young-Hee nodded, understanding that she needed to continue her explanation: “There is something else you need to know, and this might be even more confusing but I need to tell you this before explaining why I’m here. In the branch families, there are two big differences between us and the main family. The first is how we change into our zodiac animals. In the branch families, we are in complete control of that. We can change whenever we want and change back whenever we want.”

Young-Hee took a small break to eat some more of her curry and give everyone some time to process that bit. She didn’t even need to look up to know that everyone was staring at her in shock and surprise. ‘Well this just means the next bit will be an even bigger doozy.’

She looked up from her bowl of curry, cleared her throat, and continued: “The second huge difference is how the head of the family treats the zodiacs and the “secret of the curse”. In the branch families, things are handled in the exact opposite manner of how they are handled here. That means there are no secrets, and no inside and outside members. That also means we heads treat all the zodiacs with love, understanding, and respect. There is no abuse tolerated by us at all.”

Young-Hee decided to take another curry break to let everyone process this doozy of a drop of information. Kyo and Kazuma just sat at the table staring at Young-Hee during the entirety of her curry break. ‘Yup, I was right, that one was quite the doozy.’

“Alright, so what does that all mean in regards to me visiting? Well, this is a visit to see what exactly is going on with the main family. They don’t tell us branch heads anything, and my family is treated especially badly because we honor the cat. I also have a personal reason for visiting. I want to put Akito in their place and teach them there is more to this world than to hurt and be hurt”, Young-Hee finished her explanation and sighed.


	5. Tohru Honda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee and Tohru begin their intense discussion over the curse of the zodiacs!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: There is a part of this chapter that hints at/alludes to suicide!!!

Earlier that afternoon:

As Kyo, Young-Hee, and Kazuma entered Kazuma’s home, Young-Hee noticed a very plain looking teenage girl sitting at the table in the living area. She had long brown hair slightly tied back with a baby blue ribbon and wore an expression that made her seem really spacey and ditzy. However, the one thing that really caught Young-Hee’s attention was the girl’s eyes. They were the eyes of a kind and caring young woman.

As the trio walked into the living area to get to the kitchen, the teenage girl quickly stood up. Her expression changed from spacey and ditzy to happy, welcoming, and warm. Her eyes also seemed to light up.

“Welcome home, Kyo-kun!” she cheerfully exclaimed. Young-Hee noted that she almost seemed to be shining.

Kyo put his bags down on the table, put his hand on her head gently, and then said, “Thanks, Tohru.”

Young-Hee gasped. ‘This is it! This is Tohru Honda!’

Tohru turned to face Young-Hee and bowed as she said, “Why hello there! I’m sorry if I surprised you! My name is Tohru Honda, and it’s very nice to meet you!”

Young-Hee bowed back and said, “Hello, Tohru Honda. My name is Young-Hee. It’s very nice to meet you as well. Will you be joining us for dinner?”

“Oh, yes! Kyo usually comes by after school to train at Kazuma’s and then comes home pretty late. But I wanted to see him train today and then Kazuma asked me to stay for dinner”, Tohru explained. Young-Hee thought she saw Tohru light up as she talked about Kyo and it made her smile. ‘I’m glad to see that someone else also loves the cat.’

“Calm down, Tohru. Not everyone needs to know that you came to watch me train and have dinner with Shisho and I”, Kyo said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Oh right, I’m sorry, Kyo. I didn’t mean to embarrass you!” Tohru said.

“It’s alright, let him be a bit embarrassed every once in a while”, Kazuma said, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Oh, by the way, would you mind helping us unpack the groceries? These two got quite a bit”, Kazuma said.

Tohru immediately grabbed the bags off the table and rushed off to the kitchen with Kyo in tow shouting, “Don’t worry, you can leave it all to me!”

Young-Hee smiled and continued into the kitchen with her bags. As she set her bags down and began unpacking, Tohru turned at the same time to help Kyo and noticed her taking out several bento boxes and packages of onigiri.

“You must really love bento meals and onigiri”, Tohru said, smiling. Young-Hee was caught a bit off guard and didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t want everyone knowing that she had never been to a convenience store before. That embarrassed her quite a bit.

“Oh, um, well, Japan’s convenience stores are just a bit different in terms of selection so I just couldn’t help myself”, Young-Hee managed to stammer out. ‘I hope Kyo doesn’t say anything’, she thought.

Kyo looked over at Young-Hee and, seeing her expression, decided not to say anything. ‘She’ll have to tell us eventually over dinner so there’s no need to call her out for lying right now’, he thought.

After they finished unpacking the groceries, Tohru and Kyo gathered all the ingredients for the curry. And they began preparing dinner.

—————————————

Back in the present time:

Everyone stared at Young-Hee with looks of both shock and disbelief. They were unable to process what she had just told them. It was just too much.

‘Damn, I hope I haven’t fried out their brains or anything’, she thought. ‘Maybe this was way too much information for them to take in all at once.’

Young-Hee sat at the table, eating her curry and wondering if she had just made a huge mistake in telling them the truth. 

Just as she was about to open her mouth to apologize for dropping such a bomb on everyone, Tohru spoke, “I think it’s wonderful that you want to help everyone! I want to help everyone, too! I want to find out more about everyone and understand the true nature of the curse!”

Young-Hee smiled. ‘Of course, Tohru, you’re such a kind and caring person. Of course you would want to help everyone’, she thought to herself. 

“Well, Tohru, I’m very happy to hear you say that. I have some things I would like to discuss with you. Are you free after dinner?” Young-Hee asked Tohru.

“Of course! Kyo and I don’t have to get back to Shigure’s too soon!” Tohru exclaimed.

“Oh, by the way! I almost forgot! I wanted to ask how the selection in Japan’s convenience stores differ from that in South Korea’s convenience stores!” Tohru asked excitedly.

Young-Hee nervously looked down at the table at her curry and then looked up back at Tohru, who was sitting next to her. She took a deep breath before telling her the truth: “Honestly, I feel a bit embarrassed about this but because I’m the head all our servants do the grocery shopping for me. I’ve never even stepped foot in a grocery or convenience store.”

“Oh my, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad or anything! I’m so sorry! I won’t bring it up again!” Tohru shouted apologetically.

“It’s alright, I should have told you the truth earlier. Let’s finish our dinner so we can talk”, Young-Hee replied, trying to smile.

“Alright!” Tohru said in agreement.

The two then buckled themselves down to finish their curry.

—————————————

After the two girls had finished their curry, they stood up and stretched as Young-Hee said, “I’m sorry to leave all the cleaning to you guys but I do have some somewhat urgent matters to discuss with Tohru here. Kyo, it shouldn’t take too long.”

Young-Hee gently grabbed Tohru by the hand and led her to her room at the end of the hall. She closed the door behind them and turned the lights and ceiling fan on. 

The two sat down at the table in the room and sighed. Young-Hee felt exhausted and suddenly realized that she needed to put food out for her cat, who was now standing on top of the table meowing as loudly as she could.

“I’m sorry, Nam-Sun, I’ve been so busy since we got here. I forgot about your food and even unpacking ourselves”, Young-Hee said, patting the cat on the head.

She quickly stood up and rummaged around in some of the suitcases and luggage. She pulled out a food bowl, water dish, and a large bag of dry cat food. She quickly set to work on filling the food bowl, and leaving the room to fill up the water dish. When she came back from filling the water dish, she was relieved to see her cat happily munching away on the kibble. She set the water dish down and sat at the table again.

Facing Tohru, she asked, “What do you already know about the main family and the curse that they are under?”

Tohru closed her eyes to think for a few moments before answering, “I know that there are 12 members possessed by spirits of the zodiac, that Kyo is possessed by the cat, and that Akito is considered the God of the Zodiac. I also know that they change into their animals when hugged by the opposite sex or when they are physically weakened.”

“Yes, very good. So you know pretty much the basics of the curse here”, Young-Hee said, scratching her head. ‘Has she seen the true form of the cat spirit?’

“Have you also seen the cat spirit’s true form?” Young-Hee asked, as she put her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers to rest her head on her hands.

Tohru seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, “Yes, I did see the cat’s true form. It was scary but I knew that if I hadn’t followed Kyo and talked him into coming back, then…”

Tohru trailed off as tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She just couldn’t bear to think about that. She didn’t want to ever imagine her life without Kyo in it.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you”, Young-Hee said, pulling Tohru into a hug and patting her on the head. ‘I need to be more careful about my questions, I don’t want Kyo getting mad at me.’

Young-Hee did her best to calm Tohru down and wipe away her tears. ‘She must be really in love with Kyo to cry just thinking back to that incident.’

After a few more minutes, Tohru wiped the tears away herself and calmed down. Young-Hee let go of Tohru and went back to her position at the table, noting that Tohru looked even more determined at that moment.

“Have you met all the zodiacs yet?” Young-Hee asked.

“Yes, I have! They’re all so kind and amazing in their own ways! But they all seem to be carrying some sort of sadness deep within their hearts. I want to learn more about them and truly understand the curse!” Tohru exclaimed.

She took a deep breath before continuing: “I want to break the curse if that’s what makes them so sad!”

Young-Hee gasped and a look of shock came across her face. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. ‘Does this girl seriously intend on breaking the curse all on her own? Is she crazy or just plain stupid?’

“Well, I guess I’ll cut right to the chase then. What do you know about Akito?” Young-Hee asked.

Tohru, again, hesitated for a moment. She thought back to when she had first met Akito at school. She thought about how Yuki had reacted to him. He had seemed frozen in terror. ‘Just what is the nature of the curse? Why did Yuki seem so afraid of Akito?’ Tohru thought to herself.

Realizing Young-Hee was waiting for her answer she said, “Um, I don’t really know much about Akito. I just met him at school at the beginning of the year. He seemed very nice but Yuki seemed so scared of him.”

‘Well of course he would be scared of Akito. He was mentally and emotionally tortured by him for years’, Young-Hee thought. ‘But I can’t say that to her, it might break her. I need to be careful about how I approach this.’

“Have any of the zodiacs said anything to you about Akito?” Young-Hee asked. She looked over at Tohru who seemed to be deep in thought.

“When I met him at school in the beginning of the year, after he left, Yuki asked me if he said or did anything strange to me. But I can’t recall much else”, Tohru responded.

“Oh good, so Yuki went the safe route then”, Young-Hee said, sighing in relief.

Seeing Tohru’s puzzled look Young-Hee said, “I’ve heard some very troubling rumors regarding Akito Sohma. I came here to see if they’re true and what I can do to help.”

“Come to think of it, all the zodiacs seem a bit hesitant about Akito but I don’t know why”, Tohru said.

She put her hand to her chin and thought for a moment before saying, “When I met Akito he seemed to be really nice to me! He said hello, introduced himself, and even gave me a compliment! But when Yuki came over, something about the air changed dramatically. Yuki was shaking and looked absolutely terrified. I-I ended up pushing Akito away a-and telling him we had to get back to class. Just what is it about Akito that got Yuki so frightened?”

Young-Hee looked at Tohru and then quickly looked down at the surface of the table. ‘So she is noticing these things, especially when it comes to Yuki. But I don’t think she’s ready yet, to hear the truth. I better take things a bit more slowly, for her sake and every else’s’, she thought.

“Well I could tell you about some of the rumors I’ve heard but it might break you”, Young-Hee warned.

“It’s alright, I can handle it!” Tohru exclaimed.

“Are you sure, Tohru? You’re a really nice person and I want you to stay just the way you are. Also I’m sure both Kyo and Yuki would never forgive me if I really upset you”, Young-Hee said.

“I can definitely handle it and I’ll keep it a secret from Yuki and Kyo if I need to! Please don’t worry about me! I just want to help the Sohmas and break the curse! I just want all the Sohmas to be happy!” Tohru said, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

Young-Hee sighed. ‘This girl seems really determined to help the Sohmas and break the curse. I guess I have no choice but to tell her what I know. Perhaps we can work together to break the curse’, she thought to herself.

“Alright, Tohru, please brace yourself for what I am about to tell you. And also, I don’t want you to let anyone know about what I’m about to tell you. It’ll be our little secret between just us. Okay?” Young-Hee said, turning to look at Tohru.

Tohru had stopped crying and her expression was back to being determined once again. Her expression was of one who never faltered from their chosen path.

“Yes, I’m ready! And you can count on me! I won’t tell anyone anything!” Tohru exclaimed, sounding as determined as ever.


	6. God of the Zodiac, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee starts telling Tohru about the rumors she's heard surrounding the head of the main family! Can Tohru handle the pain?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE NOTE: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND PHYSICAL ABUSE!!

Young-Hee looked up and sighed heavily. ‘I really do hope she’s ready for this’, she thought to herself. She was worried about upsetting Tohru, and for good reason. She knew that both Yuki and Kyo cared about her a great deal, and were willing to do just about anything for the girl.

‘If I frighten or hurt her then I might as well have signed my own death certificate’, Young-Hee thought to herself. She chuckled slightly to herself. ‘Well guess there is no better time than the present. Let’s just get this done with.’

She sighed once again before continuing to speak: “So, Tohru, are there any members of the zodiac you haven’t met yet?” 

Tohru paused for a moment before answering, “I’ve met everyone except for the rooster and the horse. Oh that’s it! Could Akito be the rooster or the horse?!”

“What!?” Young-Hee exclaimed before cracking up with laughter. ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe she actually thinks Akito could be the rooster or the horse! That’s just way too funny!’

“Oh, what is it? Could I be wrong? But those are the only two members of the zodiac I haven’t met yet”, Tohru said.

“Well, on technical terms, you aren’t really wrong, however, in practicality terms you are wrong. There are three members you have yet to meet”, Young-Hee explained.

Seeing the rather puzzled look on Tohru’s face, she continued: “You have yet to meet the rooster, the horse, and God.”

“Wait, what? There’s a person who’s been designated as the God in the Sohma family?” Tohru exclaimed.

“Geez, looks like you’re a bit clueless. Please, tell me the version of the zodiac story you know”, Young-Hee said.

“Well, my mom told me when I was really young but I still remember all the details clearly! One day, God asked the animals to come and join him for the banquet. God told the animals that the banquet would be the next day and to not be late. The cat was not there so the rat said he would tell the cat. The rat, however, wanted to trick the cat and told the cat that the banquet would be the day after tomorrow. The next day, the rat rode on the back of the ox to the banquet, while the cat slept thinking the banquet would be held on the next day. As the procession of animals neared the banquet location, the rat jumped off the ox’s back so he could be the first one to the banquet.”

“Ah, so that’s the fable they’re telling you guys”, Young-Hee said, as she tried to stifle a laugh.

“What? Is that version wrong? Is there a different version I should know about?” Tohru asked with a slightly worried and confused tone. Young-Hee noticed that her expression had changed, and now Tohru was starting to look worried.

“Well, actually, yes, there is a different version of the story. The true story of what happened at the banquet. But I think that can be saved for another time. Telling you the whole truth now wouldn’t help anyone, it would only burden you”, Young-Hee said.

She sighed again and thought for a moment before continuing: “What I can tell you is that the cat is not part of the zodiac because he was tricked, he is not part of the zodiac on account of his own choice. It is strictly because of that choice that God is so angry with him.”

“Wait, I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t the cat want to be part of the zodiac?” Tohru asked.

“Well, who would want to be part of a cursed and wicked bond?” Young-Hee quipped back.

Silence began to fill the room then and Young-Hee just stared down at the floor for a few minutes. It was just too painful to try and look Tohru in the eyes after all she had just said.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The sound of someone knocking on her door quickly broke the awkward silence.

“Hey! Tohru! Young-Hee! How much longer is this going to be? Yuki will come looking for us if we don’t get home soon!” Kyo called out from the other side of the door.

“Oh I think we’ll be done soon, Kyo!” Tohru called out.

“Oh, wait! I know! What if Tohru stayed over for the night! Your summer break just started, right? It would be so much fun!” Young-Hee called out.

“Oh, um, wait, really!? It’s just this is so sudden and I don’t even have pajamas or a change of clothes. And, and, and…”, Tohru stammered out mindlessly.

“Hey, Tohru, do you wanna stay the night? If you do I can run over to Shigure’s and get you pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. I’ll stay at Shisho’s too and walk you home in the morning”, Kyo said.

“Oh, um, yeah, then I guess that works! Yes, we can stay the night at Kazuma’s then!” Tohru called out.

“Okay, then I’ll head over to Shigure’s and get our clothes. I’ll be back in a bit”, Kyo said.

“Alright, see you when you get back!” Tohru cheerfully replied.

After waiting a few minutes for Kyo to be out of earshot, both girls let out a sigh of relief and then began laughing. The tension had built up so much that Kyo knocking on the door had been such a relief to them both.

“Okay, okay, where were we?” Young-Hee said as she and Tohru calmed down a bit.

“You were saying how the curse is a wicked bond or something like that?” Tohru replied, sounding a bit confused.

“Oh yeah, I remember now. I’m going to tell you a few rumors I’ve heard about Akito. After I want you to guess if he’s a zodiac member and which one you think he might be”, Young-Hee said.

“Okay! I’m ready! Let’s do this!” Tohru cheered with a look of determination on her face.

Young-Hee took a deep breath and then began to speak: “Out of all the incidents and rumors I’ve heard there are a few that stand out the most. Those incidents involve the dragon, Hatori, the tiger, Kisa, and the ox, Hatsuharu. I’m going to tell you about each of those incidents and I would like to know what you think after each one.”

Young-Hee took another pause and looked at Tohru with a serious face. After seeing Tohru respond with another look of determination, she smiled. ‘Of course. She’s ready to hear this.’

“Alright, let’s start with the most tame incident of the three, the incident involving little Kisa. I heard that Hiro, the sheep, went to Akito one day and told him that he loved Kisa and, apparently, Akito did not take that too well. In response to that statement from Hiro, Akito apparently attacked Kisa to the point where Hatori and a few others needed to intervene. She had to go to the Sohma family hospital and stay there for a few weeks. From what I’ve heard, her face required bandages and she was covered in bruises. Hiro blamed himself for what happened to her, and that’s why he stopped speaking to her for so long. He just didn’t know what else to do to protect her. Now, tell me, what do you think of that?”

“Oh my gosh, that’s horrible!” Tohru exclaimed. She had a little more than a hint of tears in her eyes. Young-Hee leaned forward a bit as she thought she might’ve caught a tear rolling down Tohru’s cheek.

Young-Hee sighed and leaned back. ‘I hope she can deal with what happened to Rin and Haru alright.’

“The second incident I will tell you involves Hatsuharu, the ox. Remember how he was acting up some time ago in his homeroom and basically destroyed everything in the classroom?”

Tohru nodded, indicating that she remembered that incident.

“Well, I can tell you why he was destroying the classroom. It’s because his girlfriend broke up with him. Apparently, he and his girlfriend were secretly dating and thought that Akito didn’t know anything about it. However, they were very, very wrong. Akito apparently threw the girlfriend out a second story window. She received some pretty serious injuries and has been stuck in the Sohma family hospital for quite some time now. Haru would go after school to visit her a lot but she broke up with him. Now he probably blames himself for what happened to her.”

Tohru gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Young-Hee could see some tears streaming down her face.

“That is just absolutely terrible! What a horrible thing to do! Why would the head of the Sohma family do things like that?!” Tohru exclaimed. 

“I-I don’t know, Tohru. That’s why I’m here, to find out why and to put a stop to this”, Young-Hee said.

The girls again sat in silence for a few moments. Young-Hee was taking the time to think about whether she should tell Tohru about Hatori and Kana. ‘Perhaps I should save that one for another time. She seems traumatized enough already.’

Just as she was about to speak, the girls heard Kyo coming back into the house. Tohru quickly wiped her tears away and started looking happy. Young-Hee smiled when she saw the reaction. ‘I guess it’s time we change the subject then.’

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“Hey, Tohru, it’s me! I’m back from Shigure’s now! I got your pink pajamas for tonight and one of your blue summer dresses for tomorrow! Is that alright?” Kyo asked through the door.

“Of course! Thank you so much, Kyo, and welcome back!” Tohru cheerfully responded.

“Yes, thank you very much for getting Tohru her clothes!” Young-Hee also responded as she got up and opened the bedroom door.

“Would you like to have Tohru back now for a bit? I really should be getting changed for bed and I need to go look for my cat to check on her”, Young-Hee said as she looked up at Kyo.

“Uh, yea, sure. That’s fine”, Kyo awkwardly responded.

‘Okay, time to show off how the branch family members change into their zodiac forms!’ Young-Hee thought to herself as she closed her eyes. She relaxed her entire body and envisioned her cat form. As she slowly began opening her eyes, she began to gracefully transform as she got closer and closer to the ground. By the time she had completely opened her eyes, she had turned into a beautiful black and white tuxedo cat.

She sat down, licked one of her front paws, and looked up to see a very bewildered Kyo and Tohru. She covered her mouth with her paw before speaking, “Surprised, aren’t you?”

Kyo and Tohru speechlessly nodded. They were just too surprised to actually say anything.

“The zodiac members in the branch family can transform at their own will. Of course if we are physically weakened the transformation into our zodiac forms can be affected in a similar fashion to the main family, I suppose”, Young-Hee explained.

Kyo and Tohru continued to look at her, speechless and shocked.

‘Wow, I guess that’s pretty hard for them to deal with right now. Better get to finding that mischievous cat of mine’, she thought as she walked out of the bedroom. 

As she walked around Kazuma’s home, she meowed loudly trying to signal to Nam-Sun that it was time to get ready for bed. There was no answer and she couldn’t seem to hear any meows coming from outside either.

‘Well, the grounds are pretty large. She might’ve gotten herself lost after all this time wandering alone’, Young-Hee thought to herself as she exited the home and headed toward the inner grounds of the main estate.

As she walked throughout the grounds, she meowed. She meowed as loudly as she could hoping Nam-Sun would hear her and come running. But this was to no avail. Nam-Sun did not make so much as peep, and she couldn’t hear even one cat running toward her.

‘Okay. now I’m starting to get worried’, she thought to herself. Young-Hee started sprinting around the grounds, still in her cat form. She started checking underneath every porch, in every tree, and in every bush. She started looking into every nook and cranny she could find, hoping that one of them was hiding her precious Nam-Sun.

As she neared the main pavilion, she meowed the loudest meow she had ever meowed. To her delighted surprise, she heard a cat meow back. It was Nam-Sun!

As Young-Hee neared Nam-Sun’s location she saw that the cat was wrapped in someone’s arms. It was a guy. A guy with white, spiky hair wearing a button down shirt that he had only buttoned about halfway up and skinny jeans. He had pierced ears and was wearing several gothy-looking necklaces. ‘Oh my gosh! It’s Hatsuharu! The ox!’ Young-Hee thought to herself.

‘Okay, okay, get it together, girl! You’ve gotta transform back into a human to interact with him!’ Young-Hee took a few steps back and sat down behind a nearby bush. She closed her eyes and relaxed herself once again. This time, she envisioned her human form. As she slowly began opening her eyes, the transformation from cat to human began. When her eyes were fully opened, she was in her human form fully clothed.

She sighed and ruffled her hair a bit. She then stepped out from behind the bush and quickly approached Haru and Nam-Sun. 

As she got closer to the two she put out her hand and said, “Alright, Nam-Sun, say goodbye to Hatsuharu. It’s time for bed now.”

Nam-Sun and Haru looked up at Young-Hee, a bit surprised. Nam-Sun quickly snapped out of her daze, gave Haru’s hand one last head butt, and then jumped down off the porch. Young-Hee picked the young tuxedo cat up and snuggled her for a moment.

“Thank you so much for looking after Nam-Sun for me! I hope she wasn’t too much trouble!” Young-Hee said cheerfully, giving Haru a friendly wave.

Haru smiled back and said, “She was no trouble at all. She just looked lost so I let her cuddle with me awhile. Say, how do you know me? Have we met before? Because I don’t recognize you.”

“Oh, my name is Park Young-Hee. I’m visiting from a South Korean branch family!” Young-Hee introduced herself, bowing.

“Oh, I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you. I should probably get to bed myself. Good night”, Haru replied, waving as he got up and walked into his bedroom.

Young-Hee continued standing there smiling for a moment until Haru shut the door and pulled the blinds over the windows. After that, she sighed and sat down on the ground, looking at Nam-Sun with a miffed expression.

“Man, that was close! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she gently scolded the young cat.

After another moment of resting, she quickly got up and brushed herself off, cat in hand, then said, “Alright then! Now that I’ve found you it’s time to go home, get ready for bed, and then let this unexpected sleepover commence!”

With that, Young-Hee and Nam-Sun started making their way back to Kazuma’s.


	7. God of the Zodiac, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young-Hee drops an astonishing reveal about who the God of the Zodiac is! Will Tohru agree to help her in her quest?

As the two made their way back to Kazuma’s house, they passed by a house deep on the grounds of the Sohma estate. The house seemed normal enough as they walked past it but suddenly Young-Hee stopped dead in her tracks. She looked closer to see a shadowy silhouette of a person standing at a round, circular window. Even though she was unable to see the person’s eyes she could have sworn they were glaring at her. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable and she quickly hurried herself and her cat along.

********

As they continued passing by houses inside the main Sohma estate, Young-Hee started feeling more and more confused. ‘Where the hell are we? Did we really come this far into the estate, or are we lost?’ She stopped to think for a moment before repositioning Nam-Sun so that the little cat could see her face. 

“Well, I can’t believe I’m gonna say this but, Nam-Sun, do you have any idea on how to get back to Kazuma’s?” Young-Hee asked, looking very confused. The cat cocked her head to one side, as if to appear like she was thinking. After a few moments, the cat leapt from Young-Hee’s arms and landed softly on the ground. She looked up and meowed very loudly, as loudly as she could.

“Yeah, I should have known. Hahahaha, you’ll show me the way but only if I’m a cat, too. Alright, alright. Have it your way. Just give me a minute”, Young-Hee sighed, as she transformed.

As soon as Young-Hee had finished transforming, Nam-Sun meowed, a much happier and more content one. ‘Yea, she just wanted me to transform.’ And within minutes, Nam-Sun and Young-Hee were bounding across the estate, with Nam-Sun leading the way.

********

As the two bounded swiftly and silently across the grounds, things started to look more familiar to Young-Hee. She smiled to herself and thought about how she should thank Nam-Sun for helping her find the way yet again.

It wasn’t long before the two were back at Kazuma’s back porch. Young-Hee breathed a sigh of relief as she changed back into being a human. She sat on the porch for a minute to catch her breath and laid down. ‘It’s pretty relaxing out here when there’s no one around’, she thought as she smiled to herself. 

She closed her eyes and began daydreaming. It was mostly about being back at home and thinking about what everyone might be doing right now. It made her slightly sad as she was starting to really miss her family back in Korea.

Just as she was getting really caught up in her daydreams, Tohru poked her head out the front door. When she spotted Young-Hee and Nam-Sun laying on the porch, she smiled to herself thinking about how adorable the two looked.

After a few moments Tohru quietly walked over to Young-Hee and gently laid her hand on her shoulder before saying, “Welcome back, you two! You should probably get inside so you don’t catch a cold or something!”

“Huh?” Young-Hee was suddenly snapped out of her daze and daydreaming by a soft and gentle-spoken voice. She looked up to see Tohru Honda smiling softly.

“Oh, wow, I musta looked stupid. Sorry about that!” she quickly apologized as she got up, brushed herself off, and picked Nam-Sun up. The cat, who was starting to doze off, slightly hissed in surprise.  
“Oh, I’m sorry for disturbing you but we gotta get inside now. You can sleep once we get in”, Young-Hee cooed as she walked back into Kazuma’s home. Tohru gently shut the door behind them and followed Young-Hee into Kazuma’s home and into the living area.

********

Once back inside Kazuma’s home, Young-Hee realized that she and Nam-Sun had been gone longer than she originally thought. Both Tohru and Kyo were in their pajamas and Kazuma was nowhere to be seen; Young-Hee surmised that he was probably already in bed by now.

Young-Hee went down the hallway and entered the bedroom she and Nam-Sun were using while they stayed in Japan. She put Nam-Sun down on the floor who quickly ran over to her food and water bowls. The cat ate and drank happily while Young-Hee changed into her own pajamas. Afterwards, she sat on her bed for a minute and sighed. She had met the ox of the main Sohma family which was pretty exciting for her, especially given the fact he dressed very similarly to her and Ha-Jun.

But the shadowy figure she had seen in the window worried her and she was unable to get that feeling that they were glaring at her, even looking down on her out of her head. She put her hand to her head while she tried way too hard to get that feeling out of her mind. ‘Gotta think of something else, gotta think of something else!’

As she was silently giving herself an inner pep talk, Tohru opened the door slightly to peek her head in and check on her. Young-Hee looked up as light from the hallway began to fill a small spot of her room.

“Hi there, Young-Hee! Would you like to play a quick game of Rich Man Poor Man before bed?” Tohru asked cheerfully.

“Oh um yes, I would love to!” Young-Hee replied as she got up off her bed and ran to join Tohru and Kyo out in the living room.

********

After playing three rounds of Rich Man Poor Man, everyone had become exhausted and gone to bed. Kyo went to his bedroom which was located across the hall from the guest bedroom. And both Young-Hee and Tohru retired to the guest bedroom.

As Young-Hee, Tohru, and Nam-Sun settled down for bed, Tohru snapped her fingers and gasped.

“You totally forgot to tell me something earlier, back when Kyo interrupted us!” Tohru exclaimed, as she realized Young-Hee was looking at her in a confused manner.

“Oh right! I wanted to ask you who you think Akito is? Is he the rooster? The horse? Or maybe perhaps could he be God? Well, Tohru? What do you think?” (Young-Hee had thought it best not to tell Tohru about Hatori and Kana quite yet.)

Tohru put her hand to her chin and thought for a moment. ‘Which member of the zodiac is Akito?’ she thought to herself. 

Young-Hee sat on her bed and looked at Tohru while she thought. The sight of Tohru thinking almost caused her to burst out laughing. She thought she could see steam rising up from Tohru’s ears and around her head.

After another moment of thinking, Tohru finally had an answer: “Um…um… I think he might be the…um maybe the rooster?”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Young-Hee immediately burst out laughing and couldn’t stop for almost five or six minutes straight.

“What? Was I wrong? Um I couldn’t really see Akito being the horse because he doesn’t really have horse like features. But I couldn’t see him being the God either. I don’t think the God would treat the other zodiac members this way”, Tohru explained. She was waving her hands and had a bit of a panicked look on her face.

“Well, I mean that’s a great look on things but you’re wrong, Tohru”, Young-Hee said. She was still giggling a bit.

“Oh, if I’m wrong then which member of the zodiac is he?” Tohru asked, now genuinely very curious.

Young-Hee got up off her bed and sat down on the floor next to Tohru, who was sitting on an open futon. She nervously twiddled her fingers to think for a few moments. She wanted to word things right to Tohru so that she didn’t scare her off. She desperately wanted Tohru to stay because she needed someone to be her ally in getting Akito to stop torturing the zodiac members.

After a few minutes of thinking Young-Hee finally sighed and said, “Akito is not the rooster or horse. Akito is the God of the Zodiac.”

Tohru gasped and looked over at Young-Hee. The look in her eyes was of complete and utter devastation. She began crying.

“But why? Why would the God treat the members of the zodiac so badly?” Tohru asked, the tears still streaming down her face.

Young-Hee looked back at Tohru and put her hand on Tohru’s, attempting to comfort her. She also tried to force a smile but was unsuccessful.

“Tohru, I’m not really sure why Akito, the God, would do any of this. But that’s why I’m here. I’m here to put an end to Akito’s terrible ways. And I also want to break the curse. I think, honestly, that might be the best way to stop Akito from hurting them more.”  
Tohru nodded and wiped away some of her tears. She put on a determined look and then started waving her arms and hands a bit, in an attempt to psyche herself up a little.

“I want to break the curse, too!” Tohru exclaimed.

Young-Hee smiled as she thought to herself, ‘Of course her answer about breaking the curse would remain the same. What a pure-hearted girl.’

Gripping Tohru’s hand slightly, Young-Hee asked, “Tohru, would you like to help me break the curse? I would really appreciate it.”

Tohru nodded as she said, “Of course! I would love to help! I just want all the zodiac members to be happy and to be able to live their dreams!”

Young-Hee smiled as she got back up and returned to her bed. Nam-Sun jumped up on the bed and curled up on top of the blankets. Back on the floor, Tohru finished wiping her tears away and started tucking herself in between the blankets on the futon. The entire scene seemed surreally ideal compared to what had just occurred a few minutes earlier.

Young-Hee watched almost protectively as Tohru drifted off to sleep. As she lay in her bed after Tohru fell asleep, she thought to herself about just how truly sweet Tohru was. She also thought about how she would need to come up with a plan for helping the zodiac members and breaking the curse with Tohru in the morning.

As she kept thinking about these things, she began to feel tired. She tucked herself under her blankets and let the sweetness of sleep take her.

She and Tohru would come up with a good plan in the morning…


	8. Meeting Momiji Sohma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This and the next chapter are a bit of a cool down!
> 
> In this chapter, Young-Hee eats a bit of a traditional Japanese breakfast and meets Momiji Sohma! Enjoy!

As the morning sunlight made its way into the bedroom, Tohru quietly yawned, stretched, and got out of bed. She looked over toward Young-Hee who was still quietly sleeping with Nam-Sun lying down beside her. Tohru noted that the two seemed to have very serene expressions, which caused her to smile as she quietly snuck out of the bedroom.

‘I should hurry up and shower and get dressed, so I can make everyone breakfast!’ she thought excitedly as she quietly raced into the living area. She went to the closet in the living area, opened it, and pulled out a pink duffel bag. She unzipped it to reveal that Kyo had managed to get all her things that she would need, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a good change of clothes. She pulled out all these things and managed to make it into the bathroom without tripping for once. (It should be mentioned that Tohru is extremely accident prone and can even trip on flat ground!)

She quietly and quickly took her shower, got dressed, and cleaned up the bathroom a bit before going into the kitchen. She tied up her hair with a baby blue ribbon. She also put on an apron that was lying on the kitchen table. Then she opened the fridge door to see what was inside to use to make breakfast. She saw that there were eggs and all the ingredients necessary to make miso soup. She also noted that there was rice and a rice cooker. ‘I know what to make! Eggs with furikake, miso soup, and rice!’ she thought as she quietly clapped her hands together, and then started pulling out all the ingredients.

********

Young-Hee and Nam-Sun woke up to the smell of something delicious being cooked in the kitchen. As she sat up, yawned and stretched, Young-Hee looked down at the floor and realized Tohru was no longer in the room. She smiled as she thought, ‘Ah, Tohru must be cooking breakfast right now! And it smells really good, too!’

She stretched one more time and then started getting out of bed. As she started scooting out of bed, Nam-Sun meowed angrily and got up. Young-Hee looked over at her angry cat and apologized. ‘She really isn’t a morning cat’, she thought humorously.

After getting out of bed, Young-Hee went to the dresser and closet to pick out her clothes for the day. She pulled out a pair of black cargo pants and a Maximum the Hormone band t-shirt. She also got her soap, shampoo, and conditioner and then headed for the bathroom. She wanted to shower and get dressed before she went into the kitchen and gave Tohru a morning greeting.

On her way to the bathroom, she spotted Tohru happily buzzing about the kitchen. The sight of Tohru so happily cooking made her smile. It really warmed her heart to see someone so happy in a Sohma household. She glanced at Tohru a moment longer as she went into the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

********

Young-Hee sighed happily and contently as she exited the bathroom holding her dirty clothes. As she walked past the kitchen to get to her bedroom she glanced inside again. Tohru was still happily cooking away, which made Young-Hee smile again.

Once back inside her room, she tossed her dirty clothes into a laundry bag in the back corner and decided to tidy up her bed and Tohru’s as well. She carefully made her bed, laying the comforter on the bed neatly and flatly then folding the upper edge so that her pillows would not be covered by the comforter. Next, she went to the futon on the floor, carefully removed the sheet and comforter then rolled the mattress up and put it away on a shelf in her closet. She then took the cases off the pillows and put them in the laundry bag. She also put the bed sheets and comforter in the laundry bag.

After she finished tidying up the room, she refilled Nam-Sun’s food and water bowls then walked out into the hallway. ‘I’m pretty hungry now, I hope breakfast is ready!’ she thought to herself as she quickly walked toward the kitchen.

As she neared the kitchen, the smell of eggs, rice and miso soup filled the air. She took a deep breath of all the delicious flavors wafting through the air and soon found herself in the kitchen, much to Tohru’s surprise. 

When Torhu saw Young-Hee standing in the kitchen with a smile on her face, it made her smile, too, as she cheerfully said, “Good morning, Young-Hee! I hope you’re hungry this morning!”

Young-Hee sighed happily and sat down in a chair at the kitchen table as she replied, “Good morning to you, too, Tohru! And, yes, I am pretty hungry actually! May I ask what you’re making for breakfast?”

Tohru turned back to the stove and moved the eggs around on the pan before answering, “Since this is your first breakfast in Japan, I thought I’d make a more traditional Japanese breakfast! We’re having eggs with furikake, miso soup, and rice!”

“Wow, that sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it!” Young-Hee said cheerfully, with her mouth beginning to water.

Just then, both Kyo and Kazuma came out of their rooms at almost the same time, both headed for the bathroom to also shower and get dressed. As they neared the bathroom and kitchen, Tohru and Young-Hee could hear the shuffling of feet getting louder and more frantic. They both laughed, realizing that Kyo and Kazuma were trying to race each other to the bathroom.

A few seconds later they heard the bathroom door slam shut with Kyo yelling, “HAHA, Master! See?! I have gotten faster cause I just beat you into the bathroom!”

They laughed a little as Kazuma chuckled and replied, “Yes, my son, you sure have gotten faster. I guess I’ll just have to wait my turn.”

The girls heard Kazuma turn around and go back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. After making sure the door was fully closed, both of them started laughing hysterically.

“Aren’t those two just adorable? They really are like father and son”, Tohru said between giggles.

Young-Hee giggled and then said, “Yes they really are! It must be so amusing when you’re around them!”

Tohru nodded to agree with Young-Hee as she took the pan of eggs off the stove and divided them carefully between four bowls with furikake in them. Each bowl was on a breakfast tray that also had a bowl of rice and an empty bowl for the miso soup, which Tohru was still waiting to be finished.

Young-Hee hovered over the assembly of food and her mouth watered a little. Tohru smiled and giggled a little, as the sight she was seeing made her happy.

********

After they had both showered and gotten dressed, Kyo and Kazuma helped set the table with the breakfast trays, some napkins, soup spoons, and chopsticks. Tohru and Young-Hee then joined the guys in the living area for some breakfast.

Tohru smiled as she took a bite of her eggs then turned to Kyo and Kazuma and said cheerfully, “Good morning, Kyo, Kazuma!”

Kyo barely looked up from his meal as he replied, “Yea, good morning, Tohru.”

Kazuma looked up briefly as he greeted her, “Good morning, Tohru!”

Kazuma then looked over to Young-Hee and also greeted her, “Good morning, Young-Hee! How’s your first morning in Japan going so far?”

Young-Hee smiled as she looked up from her meal and said, “Good morning, Kazuma! My first morning is going really well, thank you for asking!”

Kazuma gave Kyo a small shove and gestured toward Young-Hee. Kyo looked up a little from his rice before he said, “Um yea, good morning, Young-Hee.”

“Good morning, Kyo!” Young-Hee replied, looking up from her meal briefly. She noticed that Kyo didn’t look up at her at all, he just continued eating his breakfast and trying his best to look bored.

Sensing the awkward silence that was quickly forming, Kazuma tried to break it early by asking, “So what is everyone doing on this wonderful day? Summer break is just starting today so are you kids going to do anything fun today?”

Kyo didn’t look up or answer. 

Young-Hee thought for a moment before answering meekly, “Well, I’m not really sure what I’m going to do today honestly. I hadn’t really given it much thought.”

“Oh, I know!” Tohru exclaimed as she waved her chopsticks, “I have work today! Would you like to tag along? I’m sure Momiji would love to meet you!”

Young-Hee thought for another moment before answering, “Hmm… meeting the rabbit of the zodiac could be quite amusing. Plus, I hear that Momiji is a very cheerful person…”

“Oh, yes, he absolutely is! He would definitely love to meet you!” Tohru exclaimed.

“Oh alright, alright. I’ll go to work with you, just so long as your boss doesn’t mind”, Young-Hee said, attempting to stifle a giggle or two.

“Oh, her boss won’t mind, not as long as you’re both with Momiji”, Kazuma said, as he sipped from a cup of tea.

“Huh, what do you mean he won’t mind as long as we’re with Momiji?” Young-Hee asked, confused.

“Oh, was that information not given to you? Well, Momiji’s father owns the building Tohru works at and is, therefore, her boss”, Kazuma explained.

“Oh, wow, that actually sounds pretty cool! Have you ever met him, Tohru? What’s he like? Does he treat Momiji well?” Young-Hee asked, turning to face Tohru.

Tohru thought for a second before saying, “Well, I’ve never met him. I’ve only ever seen him leaving the building. And I’m also not sure how he treats Momiji, because he never really brings his parents up much.”

“Ah, okay. I should have expected that. Not many of the zodiac members like bringing up their parents”, Young-Hee said, smiling and shrugging her shoulders. She could just ask Momiji about his parents later that day when she finally met him.

********

“Alright, Kyo, Kazuma! Have a great day! We’ll see you when we get back!” Tohru said cheerfully as she waved and exited the house with Young-Hee in tow.

The walk to the building where Tohru worked was pretty straightforward and easy. There really wasn’t any way for someone to get lost going to or from it. ‘I guess it’s good that it’s pretty easy to get there. I can kind of imagine Tohru getting lost and panicking easily’, Young-Hee thought to herself. After spending just an evening with Tohru, she had learned several things about the young high school girl. For instance, that Tohru was very kind yet very much spacey and an airhead. The airhead part made Young-Hee feel a little worried.

Young-Hee was so busy thinking about how much the airhead part of Tohru worried her, that she didn’t notice the two approaching the building where Tohru worked. It was a rather tall and large building, sort of resembling a skyscraper. It was pretty much a dull, boring greyish/whitish color on the outside with windows wrapping all around. 

Upon entering, Young-Hee noticed that it looked like a regular, run of the mill office building. There was a waiting like area and a receptionist. There was also some stairs and escalators, as well as an elevator leading up to higher and lower levels of the building.

As Young-Hee was looking around, she noticed a small boy with very blonde hair in the waiting like area. He was wearing triangular, elongated sunglasses and clothing that made it look like he had come straight out of Germany or some other European country. 

As soon as he spotted Tohru and Young-Hee, he jumped off the couch he was sitting on and ran over to them. He gave Tohru a huge hug and said in a thick European accent, “Oh, Tohru! Hello there! Are you working today!? I wanna hang out and help!”

“Oh, hello, Momiji! Are you already enjoying your summer break?” Tohru replied cheerfully, smiling.

She then turned toward Young-Hee and introduced her to Momiji: “Momiji, this is Young-Hee. She’s from the Korean branch of the Sohma family and she came to visit for the summer!”

Momiji let go of Tohru and turned to face Young-Hee. He looked Young-Hee over a bit before also running over and hugging her. Young-Hee noted that Momiji’s hugs seemed super warm, like a parent hugging their child or a child hugging their favorite pet. The warmth of the hug made her smile and feel extra comfortable.

“Any friend of Tohru’s is a friend of mine! Come! Let us show you around Papa’s building!” Momiji cheerfully exclaimed. He grabbed Young-Hee’s hand and started yanking her gently and playfully toward the stairs.

“Wait, Momiji! Slow down or you’ll make her trip!” Tohru called out.

But it was too late. Momiji and Young-Hee had already made it halfway up the stairs with Momiji happily exclaiming, “I will be your guide and show you around Papa’s building, so we that way we won’t distract Tohru from her work!”

Tohru smiled as she walked up the stairs herself. She needed to get changed into her work clothes so that she could start cleaning the building. (You see, Tohru works at the Sohma building as part of the cleaning staff. She usually works part time in the afternoons and evenings after school. However, since she was now on summer break she had a lot more availability and had decided to pick up more hours during the day.)

As Tohru reached the second floor of the office building, she saw Momiji leading Young-Hee around by the hand. She smiled happily to herself as she turned and walked toward the locker room to get changed. ‘I hope Young-Hee has fun with Momiji today!” she thought to herself as she entered the locker room, settled down, and began changing into her work clothes.


	9. This is Papa's Building!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Momiji shows Young-Hee around his Papa's building and office!

After changing into her work clothes and exiting the locker room, Tohru quickly looked around hoping to perhaps catch a glimpse of Young-Hee and Momiji. However, she couldn’t spot them and, in fact, the entire second floor seemed almost unusually quiet. ‘Wow, they must be on another floor by now then’, she thought to herself as she sighed calmly and started looking for the large, janitorial trash bin.

As she rounded the corner in search of the trash bin, she saw a couple of older looking ladies also in cleaning staff outfits. The two ladies seemed to be in deep conversation and laughed at times. ‘Hmm…I wonder what they’re talking about. Maybe they saw Young-Hee and Momiji?’ she thought to herself.

As she got closer to the two ladies, she was able to overhear a little of the conversation:

“Oh my, have you noticed? That strange blonde boy is here again”, one giggled.

“Oh yes! I saw him! But did you see that girl who was with him though? She looked pretty scary!” the other one gasped.

Tohru half smiled, half frowned as she walked away thinking that the two ladies were being a little bit judgmental toward Young-Hee.

‘Mom said to always give others the benefit of the doubt!’ she thought as she bumped into a hard, plastic object, almost falling in.

“Ahhh! Oh my!” she called out as she attempted to right herself. She had almost fallen into the large trash bin she had been looking for. 

As she steadied herself, Momiji and Young-Hee happened to be passing by. Momiji, noticing that Tohru might be in trouble, rushed over with Young-Hee in tow.

“Oh, Tohru! My dear Tohru! Are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” he shouted as he got closer.

Tohru nodded and quickly righted herself before saying, “I’m alright, Momiji! I’m sorry if I worried you! What are you two up to today?”

“I’ve decided to show Young-Hee Papa’s building so that she can see why I love him so much!” Momiji cheered.

“That sounds like a lot of fun but make sure not to get in anyone’s way and to be careful not to bump into anyone!” Tohru called as Momiji left, dragging Young-Hee along with him.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be extra careful! See you later, Tohru!” Momiji shouted gleefully as he and Young-Hee slipped out of sight.

********

Momiji and Young-Hee walked around the second floor of the office building owned by his father. Momiji was practically skipping as he walked with Young-Hee who needed to do a slight jog just to keep up with him.

“This is Papa’s building! He’s worked really, really hard to get this building and is such a hard worker! It makes me so happy when I’m here!” Momiji happily shouted as he spread his arms out to show the depths of his passion.

“That’s really nice of your dad to let you come here after school and during your breaks to hang out. Do you ever help out at all?” Young-Hee asked, as she stopped to admire the building a little.

“Uh-huh! I help Tohru with the cleaning all the time! And whenever she is sick and can’t come in, I tell Papa and then I fill in for her! He really appreciates it!” Momiji cheered happily.

“Wow, you and your father must have such a great relationship! He sounds like a really nice man!” Young-Hee commented, smiling.

“Yes, he is! I mean he tries his best even though I can’t live with him”, Momiji said, his eyes starting to wander a bit. He walked over to a nearby window, leaned toward it, and put a hand on the glass as he stared outside.

Young-Hee came over to join him, feeling a bit worried. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up his father?’ she thought to herself. She was very aware that parents of the zodiac members in the main Japanese family treated their zodiac children differently than in South Korea.

Young-Hee also looked out the window to see a man walking out and away from the building with a young-looking long-haired blonde woman, and a small girl who had more brownish looking hair that only went down just a little past her neck. Young-Hee noticed that the small girl was wearing a very girly, frilly dress with a white apron. The man and woman were each holding a hand of the small girl as she smiled and walked between them.

When Young-Hee turned to look at Momiji, her expression turned into shock and disbelief. Momiji had his hand on the window as he stared out of it, looking at the small family with a longing expression in his eyes.

“Momiji, who are they? Is that…could that be…?” Young-Hee kept trailing off as she couldn’t bring herself to really ask the question.

“Shh, you can’t tell anyone”, Momiji said, turning away from the window and putting a finger to his lips.

“I come here to watch Papa walk home with Mama and Momo”, he admitted.

“Wait, what do you mean? Why don’t you walk home together?” Young-Hee asked, starting to feel sad. She had read the notes on Momiji’s situation but had wanted to hear it from him. She wanted to know his side.

“Like I told you before, I don’t live with Papa, and Mama, and Momo. I can’t. Because Mama’s forgotten all about me”, Momiji explained. He started walking away from the window as his family walked out of sight.

“You see, Mutti rejected me when she saw that I was the rabbit of the zodiac and she became very ill. Papa said that she would need to forget me or she would die. I didn’t want her to forget me. I wanted her to keep trying, to try as hard as she could. But something in her had broken. So I agreed to it”, Momiji said.

Young-Hee gasped, with sadness and shock. She couldn’t believe the files she had read had been so accurate and correct. She couldn’t believe that Momiji’s mother had rejected him so badly. She couldn’t believe any of it. Worst of all, it had left Momiji all alone in this world.

“Well, anyway! Let’s continue with the tour!” Momiji shouted, happily clapping his hands together. 

But just as Momiji was beginning to walk away toward the end of the hallway, Young-Hee rushed up and hugged him. Momiji was half expecting to transform into his rabbit zodiac form but nothing happened. Instead, Young-Hee was able to fully embrace him in a loving hug.

“Wait, why didn’t I transform?” Momiji asked.

“Oh, did no one tell you? I’m the head of the Korean branch family, and we’re all zodiacs, too! I’m the cat! So it’s okay if we hug! You won’t transform!” Young-Hee happily informed Momiji.

“Oh wow! I didn’t know that!” Momiji cheered.

Young-Hee let Momiji out of the hug and they both skipped happily down the hallway with Momiji shouting, “I still have so much of Papa’s building to show you! It’s so big!”

********

Tohru was now on the third floor of the office building. She was dealing with the trash bins that were located near the vending machines and elevators. She had made quick work of both the first and second floors.

As she looked at the watch on her wrist, she sighed and wiped her forehead. There was the smallest amount of sweat forming on her forehead. ‘I just need to get through this shift and then I have some time off! I can hang out with everyone and get to know them even more! Maybe I’ll even have some time to get more information on the curse and how I might be able to break it!’ she thought triumphantly to herself.

‘Alright! I just need to buck up and finish-‘ 

BANG BOOM BANG

A loud noise from down the hallway broke Tohru’s concentration and nearly scared her half to death.

“What’s that? Who’s there?!” she called out, her voice and body trembling.

She looked behind her to see a small cloud of smoke slowly lifting. 

“Oooofff, Ouch! That really hurt! Oh! I’m sorry, Young-Hee! Sometimes I can be such a clutz!” Tohru recognized Momiji’s voice coming from the cloud of smoke.

“Oh! Don’t worry about it! I should have been more aware!” Young-Hee said.

As the smoke cleared, Tohru could see Momiji helping Young-Hee up. They quickly brushed themselves off and then looked around, trying to see if anyone might have seen what had just happened. When they saw Tohru staring at them, her body still trembling, they immediately ran up to her.

“Oh no! Did we scare you, Tohru? I’m so sorry!” Momiji apologized.

“Yea, I’m really sorry, Tohru! Are you alright?” Young-Hee also apologized.

“Oh no! It’s alright! I’m fine! Don’t warry about me!” Tohru said, flailing her arms.

Young-Hee and Momiji looked at each other before doubling over with laughter.

“Are you two alright? What happened?” Tohru asked, now returning to her motherly mode.

“We were having a contest to see who would make it up the stairs first, and we sort of tripped”, Momiji explained.

“Oh, gosh! You two shouldn’t run up or down the stairs! You could have gotten really hurt!” Tohru gently scolded them.

“Un glock! We’re so sorry! We won’t do it again!” Momiji said, smiling apologetically.

“Yea, don’t worry about it! We just got a little bored! It won’t happen again!” Young-Hee agreed.

As she looked at her own watch, Young-Hee gasped and quickly pulled out her cell phone. She unlocked it, dialed a number, and put the phone to her ear.

After a few seconds, she began speaking: “Yes, is this Kazuma?... Okay, great! Could you please feed Nam-Sun? She is supposed to get 1/3 of a cup of her food for dinner!... Oh awesome! Thank you!”

After hanging up, she turned to Momiji and said, “Alright! Let’s continue exploring your Papa’s building!”

“Alright, let’s go!” Momiji cheerfully shouted, grabbing Young-Hee by the arm and gently leading her toward the elevators.

“We’re going to go to his office now! Since he went home, it’ll be fine to be in there now! He’ll never know!” Momiji cheered as he pressed a button and waited for the elevator to arrive with Young-Hee.

********

DING!

The elevator had finally arrived on the floor where Momiji’s father had his office.

As the elevator doors opened, Momiji took a quick peek from right to left. He was checking to see if there was still anyone left or lingering about on the floor.

Once he ascertained the coast to be clear, he gently took Young-Hee’s hand and lead her out of the elevator. 

They took a right straight out of the elevator, went down a hallway, and then turned left. After walking a little ways down the next hallway, Momiji stopped in front of a door. The door had a grey rectangular frame supporting a grey rectangular door with a large glass frosted window. There was writing on the window, written in large, black, block lettering. It read: Sohma, President.

“This is Papa’s office! Hold on a second! I’ll check to see if he locked it today!”

Momiji put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. It turned all the way and Momiji was able to open the door.

“Oh yay! He decided not to lock it today!” Momiji said cheerfully, as he danced into the room. He quickly beckoned Young-Hee and she slowly and carefully walked into the room, closing the office door behind her.

“Oh, crap! It’s dark in here!” Young-Hee shouted.

“Oh, no, don’t worry. I’ll have the lights on in just a second!” Momiji called out as he quickly felt the wall area next to the door. He soon felt the light switch and flicked the lights on.

With the lights now on, Young-Hee looked around the office room. There were some bookshelves filled with files, folders, and binders along the walls. And there was a desk, a large grey desk, in the middle of the room. The room itself was a good size, a decent looking office for a president of a building to have.

As Young-Hee looked around, she noticed there were photo frames on the desk. Momiji must have noticed Young-Hee looking at the photo frames, because he raced over to the desk and picked one of them up. 

He turned it in his hands so that Young-Hee could see it. The photo was of portrait orientation and showed a young man with short, brown hair wearing a black suit and tie. Beside him, was a young woman with long, blonde hair wearing a white wedding dress. The two were holding hands and smiling.

“This is Papa and Mama’s wedding photo! I love it so much! They look so happy!” Momiji cheerfully exclaimed.

He carefully placed the frame back in its original position and picked up another one. It was a photo of the small, short brown-haired girl. She had a hairband on her head and was wearing a very cute, pink, frilly dress with a white apron in the front. And she had a very big smile.

“This is a picture of Momo on the first day of summer break back when she was a little younger!” Momiji cheered.

“Wow, she’s so pretty!” Young-Hee commented without thinking.

“Yes, she is! She’s just so precious! I love her so much!” Momiji said, his smile just simply beaming.

He put the frame down and picked up a third framed photo. This one depicted Momiji’s parents and sister, but he was nowhere to be seen. In the photo, it looked like the family of three was at the park viewing the sakura blossoms.

“They went to view the sakura blossoms! I was there, too! But of course, I was out of sight!” Momiji said.

Young-Hee took the photo from Momiji and stared at it with sadness. ‘It must be so hard on him. He has to stay out of sight, hidden away, like he’s some dirty secret.’

“Oh, I almost forgot! Papa does have a photo of me, too! He really loves this one! Let me show it to you!” Momiji said, taking the photo from Young-Hee and setting it down in its proper place.

He then opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a framed photo, and handed it to Young-Hee. She gasped at the beauty of the photo. It was Momiji. He was standing on a stage in front of a piano, and he was playing a violin. His eyes were closed and he looked completely at peace.

“I can see why this is your Papa’s favorite photo of you!” Young-Hee said, still admiring it.

“Yup! He took it himself!” Momiji said, his smile just really beaming this time.

“Let me explain! I’m a violinist and I take lessons, so I’m pretty good now! My violin teacher told me about an upcoming violin competition, and I decided to enter! When I told Papa about it, he smiled and said I should do it! He said he would definitely be there and that he wanted to watch me play! And he went! It was so amazing! He stood up and clapped for me when I finished my song!”

“Aww, that’s so sweet! Your Papa really cares for you!” Young-Hee said.

“Yes, despite what the others may think, he really does love me and care for me as best he can. He tries to love me for Mama and Momo, too. He’s always apologizing for things having to be this way and I know he would rather have things be different…” Momiji trailed off as a few tears rolled from his eyes.

“Oh, look at me! Crying and getting you all upset!” he scolded himself as he wiped the tears away.

“Oh, we should really get going now! Tohru is going to be finishing her shift soon! And she will need to pack!” Momiji chuckled.

“Oh? She has to pack? What for?” Young-Hee was curious.

“Oh, that’s right! I haven’t told her yet! I’ll be coming over tomorrow to tell her we’re all going on a trip to a Sohma vacation house by the beach! Would you like to come, too? You would be able to meet more of the zodiac! I invited them all!” Momiji said, in a very happy tone.

“Yes! I would definitely love to come! And I’m sure Nam-Sun would love to walk around the beach some!” Young-Hee grinned.

“Yes! You should definitely bring your kitty! Kyo would love it!” Momiji laughed, as he and Young-Hee walked out of his Papa’s office room. He let Young-Hee exit first so that he could turn off the lights and close the door.

“Oh, maybe I should lock it up for Papa again and let him know!” he exclaimed, thinking out loud. He clicked a button on the inside doorknob and then gently closed the door. He tested the door to make sure it locked then pulled out his phone and sent his Papa a quick email.

“Alright! I’m all set now! Let’s meet up with Tohru and get you two home!” Momiji cheered, leading the way to the elevators.


	10. Packing for the Beach House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to start the beach house arc!

Momiji lead Young-Hee down to the second floor to meet up with Tohru. As they walked through hallways and rode elevators, Momiji seemed abuzz with excitement. He talked excitedly and earnestly about the beach, the beach house, and all the activities he was planning on doing.

“Stag beetles! Tohru and I will catch stag beetles together! And fireworks! On the last night we’ll all launch fireworks on the beach together! It’ll be so much fun!” he cheered, twirling a bit as he walked.

Young-Hee couldn’t help but smile. Momiji leaked out, no, more like poured out, so much positivity. It was such a nice change from the feeling she got when she was around Kyo. He always seemed kind of stand offish and somewhat gloomy, which was something to be expected from the cat of the zodiac. His “future” would be a bleak one, after all. Just thinking about that “future” made her shudder a bit internally.

As she was daydreaming, Momiji asked her a question, a question she didn’t seem to hear the first time. When Momiji stopped and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, it made Young-Hee jump a little. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Hey, Young-Hee, are you alright? You seemed sad all of a sudden”, Momiji said, leaning toward her with his hand still on her shoulder.

“Oh, no! I’m fine! I was just daydreaming! Sorry if I worried you!” Young-Hee exclaimed as she shook her head.

Momiji looked at her a second or two longer and then turned forward, gently taking his hand off her shoulder. Young-Hee could have sworn she saw a sad smile as he turned but she couldn’t be absolutely sure.

“Alright then!” Momiji exclaimed, walking forward, “What do you want to do while we’re at the beach?”

Young-Hee thought for a moment before continuing forward and answering, “Hmmm…I’m not really sure. Just what do you do at the beach, you know, other than play in the sand and swim in the water?”

“Hmm…well as I was saying before, you could catch stag beetles and launch fireworks! Oh! You can also do watermelon smashing contests! All sorts of fun things!” Momiji cheerfully exclaimed.

“A watermelon smashing contest? That sounds kind of interesting but also a bit ridiculous at the same time. Do you eat the watermelon afterwards?” Young-Hee asked, feeling a bit curious.

“Oh, of course you can eat the watermelon afterwards! You always put the watermelon on a sheet or towel so it doesn’t go to waste! Don’t they have watermelon smashing contests in Korea?” Momiji said.

“No, not that I know of. Our usual summer tradition with watermelons is making watermelon soju. It’s an alcoholic drink that you make and serve inside half a watermelon that you’ve gutted out”, Young-Hee explained.

“Oh, sounds interesting but I’m still too young to drink, hehe”, Momiji responded, “I’ll show you how to do the watermelon smashing contest at the beach house!”

“Alright, that sounds good to me!” Young-Hee replied, as she followed Momiji into another elevator.

One more elevator ride and then they’d be on the second floor, to meet up with Tohru Honda and go home.

********

Tohru was in the employee locker room on the second floor, busily changing back into her casual clothing. She’d had a long night of cleaning and was pretty tired, and ready to go home. As usual, the other ladies hired to clean the building hadn’t been of much help to her. Ever since she had been hired, they had been spending most of their shifts sitting around and gossiping with one another.

Usually, Tohru didn’t mind and, in fact, she had barely ever noticed the other ladies at all. But tonight she had wanted at least some help. Because she knew she still had her summer homework to attend to, and she hadn’t even started it yet.

‘I really need to start working on my summer homework! I can’t fall behind, otherwise I won’t be able to graduate from high school on time! And that would just make Mom so sad!’ she thought to herself.

Ever since Tohru had been little, her mother, Kyoko, had had a dream for her. She had wanted Tohru to graduate from high school. The reason for this dream was because Kyoko herself had never graduated from high school. In fact, she had dropped out of middle school. Because of this, she wanted to make sure her daughter graduated and lived through all the experiences she hadn’t been able to.

Thinking about her mother’s dream and her promise to fulfill it was giving Tohru more motivation than ever now. ‘Alright! I’m going to start my summer homework tomorrow and get as much done as I can! I can definitely do it!’ she thought to herself, as she finished changing and closed up her locker.

********

Momiji and Young-Hee had arrived on the second floor using the elevator, which was located right around the corner from the locker room. At the same time as they were exiting the elevator, Tohru was walking out of the locker room. Both “groups” must’ve had the same idea, because as Momiji and Young-Hee rounded the corner (while talking to one another), they accidentally bumped into Tohru, causing her to fall down.

“Oh! Ouch!” Tohru exclaimed as she fell down. Her bag landed on the floor next to her, luckily none of her things fell out. She rubbed her head slightly as Momiji put out his hand to help her up.

“Oh, goodness, Tohru, we’re so sorry! We didn’t see you coming! Are you alright?” he exclaimed.

“Oh! I’m alright! I was just coming to meet you guys at the elevator!” Tohru said, as she got up. She quickly brushed herself off and grabbed her bag off the floor. She checked the contents and sighed in relief, realizing that nothing had fallen out.

“I’m so sorry, too! We didn’t see you at all!” Young-Hee also apologized.

“Hey, do you want me to carry your bag for you until we get outside?” Young-Hee asked, holding out a hand.

“Oh, it’s alright! You really don’t have to! It’s not heavy or anything!” Tohru said, waving her hands slightly.

Momiji smiled, making Young-Hee realize that this was probably a normal thing for Tohru. 

“C’mon! Let’s all go down the elevator together! We don’t want to keep Yuki waiting! He might get worried and come inside for Tohru!” Momiji cheered, as he turned around and started walking in the direction of the elevator.

Tohru smiled and began following after him. Young-Hee paused for a moment before following Momiji, too. 

********

DING!

The elevator dinged as they arrived on the first floor of the building. The three exited the elevator and walked toward the door. Young-Hee could see a faint, dark outline of someone leaning on the railing outside. The person seemed to be waiting for someone.

As they got closer and closer to the exit, the person more clearly came into view, and Young-Hee let a small gasp escape from her lips. The person was a boy, quite tall, with silver/gray hair. He was a bit on the skinnier side and wore a Chinese-style button up baby blue shirt, with jeans. He was leaning on the railing.

When the automatic doors opened, Yuki stood up off the railing, smiled, and said, “Hello, Miss Honda. How was your shift? I’m here to walk you home.”

The greeting was warm and so was the smile, but Young-Hee could’ve sworn his eyes looked a bit sad.

Tohru smiled back and said, “Work was just fine tonight! Thank you so much for walking me home!”

Yuki smiled again as Tohru spoke and looked over at Momiji, then at Young-Hee. When he looked over at Young-Hee, he seemed a bit puzzled for a moment.

“Oh, um, Miss Honda, Momiji, who is that with you? A friend of yours?” he asked.

“Oh! I guess Shii-chan forgot to mention it! This is Young-Hee! She’s from the Korean branch family, and she’s visiting for the summer! And don’t worry! She knows all about the curse!” Moimiji introduced Young-Hee as she bowed slightly.

“Oh! Shigure did mention someone like that coming to visit. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention?” Yuki said.

He then bowed and said, “Hello, Miss Young-Hee. I’m Yuki Sohma, and it’s very nice to meet you.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Yuki!” Young-Hee said, attempting to sound open and friendly.

Yuki smiled again, turned to Tohru, and said, “Well, Miss Honda? How about we get going? It’s already late out and we don’t want to keep the cat waiting.”

“Oh, yes!” Tohru smiled, as she started walking beside Yuki.

“Oh, um, Tohru! Wait! I don’t know how to get back to Kazuma’s from here!” Young-Hee called out, feeling pretty dumb. She had been so awe struck by Yuki that she had forgotten she needed Tohru to guide her home.

“Oh, it’s alright! I live in the Sohma compound so I can walk you home!” Momiji exclaimed cheerfully, grabbing Young-Hee’s hand and whisking her away with him.

********

As the two neared the Sohma estate gates, Young-Hee sighed. She was just then starting to feel just how tired she truly was. She’d had a long day and a long night, and now she just really wanted to lay down and sleep.

Momiji opened a small door just next to the gates and lead Young-Hee inside. Once inside, Young-Hee saw that most of the houses in the compound were already dark, indicating that most of the family members were already asleep.

“We’ll need to be a bit quiet right now because everyone is asleep. I’ll take you to Kazuma’s and then I’ll get to my own room”, Momiji said quietly.

He gripped Young-Hee’s hand a little tighter and walked very quietly. It struck Young-Hee as she had gotten so used to Momiji running around excitedly and making a bit of noise to boot. She never realized Momiji could be so quiet.

She stared at the young boy in awe as he quickly and quietly led her across the compound to Kazuma’s home. 

Once at Kazuma’s home, Momiji walked Young-Hee up the stairs and then gave her a nice, warm hug before saying, “Thank you so much for hanging out with me tonight! I really enjoyed it! I’ll come get you tomorrow and we’ll go over Shii-chan’s together to tell everyone about the beach trip!”

Young-Hee nodded, smiled, and waved as Momiji quietly ran down the stairs and disappeared into the night.

********

RING! RING! RING!

RING! RING! RING!

Young-Hee was awakened by the sound of her phone going off.

She grumbled a bit as she sat up and lazily felt around for her phone. As soon as she found it, she looked at it and then quickly pressed on the green phone icon. It was Ha-Jun.

“Hey there, Ha-Jun. What’s up? I just woke up?” she asked, yawning slightly. She was still feeling groggy and like she hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep.

“I’m just calling to check in on you. You weren’t really answering any texts or emails yesterday. I was starting to get worried that, you know, maybe something had happened to you”, he replied.

“Oh! Damn it! I’m so sorry about that! I went with Tohru yesterday to visit her work and met the rabbit! He was showing me around his father’s building where Tohru works, and I must’ve lost track of time!” Young-Hee explained. She honestly felt really bad. She had promised to keep in close contact with Ha-Jun while she was away and was already badly failing to do so.

“Oh, um, no worries. It’s alright, just so long as you were safe and having fun, I guess”, Ha-Jun said, slightly stammering over his words. He didn’t want to come across as being too worried because he didn’t want Young-Hee to think he was needy.

“No, no! It’s my fault, really! I made a promise and so far I haven’t been very good about keeping it!” Young-Hee exclaimed, “And, honestly, I’m glad you called. I’ve been really missing you and everyone else. Are any of the other members there?”

“Oh, um, well, actually no. It’s just me. Cause I’m at my house instead of yours now”, Ha-Jun replied. Young-Hee smiled because he was sounding so awkward over the phone; it was a side of Ha-Jun she very rarely got to see or hear.

“Ah, well. I should’ve known. Since I’m not there, I’m guessing none of the members would really be spending a lot of time over at my house. How is everyone though? And how are you?” Young-Hee asked. She felt bad that Ha-Jun couldn’t have come with her.

“Everyone is doing just the same as always. The kids miss you a lot. As for me? Well, you know I miss you and I’m doing just fine. How are things going over there?” Ha-Jun responded.

“Things are going really well over here. I’ve now met the rabbit and the rat of the zodiac over here. And the rabbit is inviting everyone to the beach”, Young-Hee said.

“Oh, well, that’s good. Look, I know you just woke up so I’ll let you go. Talk to you later?” Ha-Jun said.

“Yea, sounds good. Talk to you later!” Young-Hee said. She ended the call and sighed.

********

Young-Hee sighed as she exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. Her adventures the day before had left her exhausted yet feeling somewhat satisfied. And the call from Ha-Jun this morning had left her feeling both relieved and guilty. ‘I really wish Ha-Jun could’ve come with me to visit the main family, but even begging the elders didn’t do anything’, she thought to herself sadly.

(The elders of the Korean branch family had been steadily and increasingly growing worried about how the head of the main family was running things. The rumors they had been hearing were truly frightening ones, and they believed it all merited an investigation of some kind. They had chosen Young-Hee specifically for the mission as she was able to look at things in such an objective way, that it almost seemed unnatural. 

Naturally, when Young-Hee was informed that she had been chosen to investigate the main family head she asked the elders if Ha-Jun could come with her. She told them her reasoning behind the request was because she believed she needed an extra set of eyes. She also said it would just be nice to have the opportunity to treat Ha-Jun to a bit of a vacation, given all the things he did for her all the time.

The elders adamantly denied the request, even begging did nothing to change their minds. Their reasoning? Ha-Jun sometimes clouded Young-Hee’s judgement, and not in a good way. They believed he sometimes had the ability to negatively, and even positively, influence her decisions in ways that did not seem to benefit her or the clan.)

Just remembering that conversation with the elders had changed Young-Hee’s expression to become a pouty face. ‘Damn those elders sometimes’, she thought to herself.

“Hey, Young-Hee! How did you sleep!?”

“WHAAA!” Young-Hee almost screamed out in surprise.

Standing in the entrance to the kitchen was Momiji. He was wearing a nice summer outfit that seemed to come straight out of Germany. He was also wearing his funny-looking, triangular-shaped sunglasses. His expression was that of a happy and excited child.

“Oh, hi there, Momiji! Good morning! I wasn’t expecting you to be here so early in the morning!” Young-Hee had quickly regained her composure.

“Oh, well I just came by to eat breakfast with you and then we’re going to Shii-chan’s to inform everyone about the beach trip! We’re leaving tomorrow!” Momiji said cheerfully, still smiling.

“Oh, wait! What! We’re all leaving tomorrow for the beach!? Isn’t that really sudden?” Young-Hee asked, feeling totally and completely unprepared. (Now she was really wishing Ha-Jun could’ve come with her; he’d always done a lot better reacting to surprises such as this one.)

“Everyone loves surprises and this is a good one, too! I think everyone really deserves this vacation at the beach! It’ll be so much fun and relaxing!” Momiji exclaimed cheerfully, “Now then! Sit down at the table in that room over there and I’ll come serve you breakfast!”

Young-Hee simply looked at Momiji in surprise for a moment and then did as she was told. When she had made her way to the table in the living area, she saw that it was already set for two, which made Young-Hee feel a bit confused.

“Hey, where’s Kazuma’s plate and chopsticks? Isn’t he eating with us?” Young-Hee called out to Momiji.

“Oh, he already got up and ate a bit ago! He’s teaching at the dojo now!” Momiji explained.

“Okay, that makes sense”, Young-Hee replied, sitting down on the floor. 

A few minutes later, Momiji came into the room. He was carrying a large tray that had steam rising up from it. Young-Hee took a small whiff of the steam and her mouth watered slightly. ‘That smells so good!’ she thought to herself.

Momiji set the tray down to reveal that he had made eggs, onigiri, and miso soup.

“Alright! Let’s eat up and then off to Shii-chan’s we go!” he cheered, serving first Young-Hee then himself.

********

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Momiji knocked on the door of a two-story home in the middle of the woods. The home looked like a more traditional version of a modern Japanese house. It seemed to be made mostly of wood with a grayish-shingled roof. The front door was a sliding door made of wood and paper. There was also a pair of much larger, wider sliding doors to the left which led to the living area.

Young-Hee stood back a bit to admire the home a little more. It seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale like Goldilocks or maybe even Snow White.

After about a minute, the two heard some ruffling coming from inside the home and the front door slid open. Yuki stood in the doorway, smiled and said, “Good morning, Momiji, Miss Young-Hee. What brings you here?”

“Oh, my dear Yuki, I invited them!” Shigure cheered in almost a singing voice as he neared the front door. He was wearing a more modern-looking version of a green men’s kimono, and he was holding his fan again.

“Oh, hello, Shigure! Long time no see!” Young-Hee said, waving.

“Hello, Young-Hee! Momiji! Come on in you two! Everyone is up already so no need to be quiet or anything!” Shigure said, walking away with Yuki in tow.

Momiji and Young-Hee followed the two into the home, passing by a long, narrow staircase that led up to the second floor. Young-Hee noticed that the stairs also seemed to be made out of wood.

The two made their way into the living area which looked much like the one in Kazuma’s home. Tohru was in the kitchen located directly behind the living area. She seemed to be washing dishes after breakfast had been eaten.

“Tohru, why don’t you take a break from your chores and come into the living area? We have a couple of guests here for you”, Shigure called, sitting down at the table with Yuki.

“Alright! Coming!” Tohru replied, as she turned off the water, dried her hands, and came into the living area.

“Oh, hello, Momiji, Young-Hee! What are you two doing here so early in the day?” Tohru asked, as she also sat down.

“Hey, Tohru you’re taking some time off work for the summer break, aren’t you?” Momiji asked.

“Oh, well, yes, I am! Why do you ask?” Tohru replied.

“Well, how would you like to take a trip to the beach? I booked one of the Sohma summer houses! It will be so much fun! We can catch stag beetles and launch fireworks! I invited everyone!” Momiji said cheerfully, a huge beaming smile on his face.

“Oh, I would love to go but I haven’t even started on my summer homework yet”, Tohru admitted sadly.

“Miss Honda? You haven’t started your homework yet? Would you like me to help you? It would be such a shame if you couldn’t go on account of your studies”, Yuki interjected.

“Oh my gosh, you’ll help me? That would be really lovely!” Tohru exclaimed, jumping up at once.

“Yes, let’s get started. Momiji, you had better tell Kyo about the trip or he might go off to train in the mountains again”, Yuki said, only half joking.

“Alright! Young-Hee, let’s go to Kyo’s room! I’ll show you where it is! He’ll be so excited!” Momiji cheered, grabbing Young-Hee’s hand and towing her away with him.

********

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Hey, Kyo, open up! It’s Momiji and Young-Hee! We’re coming in!” Momiji shouted as he opened the wooden door to Kyo’s room.

Young-Hee glanced around Kyo’s room, noticing how barren it looked. There was a desk and chair, a dresser, a bookcase, and Kyo lying down on a tatami mat on the floor in the middle of the room. He had one of his arms over his head and it looked like he might’ve been battling a headache.

“What is it? I’m too tired to deal with you right now”, he grumbled, turning his head toward Momiji.

“WAKE UP! WE’RE GOING TO THE BEACH TOMORROW! YOU HAVE TO PACK! EVEN TOHRU IS GOING!” Momiji shouted as if he had a megaphone.

“Oh man, shut up. You’re too loud, and you’re going to give me headache shouting like that”, Kyo replied, as he started to get up.

“Oh, c’mon! You have to go! Tohru is going and she’ll be so sad if you don’t go!” Momiji said, slightly tugging at Kyo’s clothing.

“Oh, shut it, Momiji. I never said I wasn’t going. Leave me alone, I gotta start packing”, Kyo said as he walked toward his dresser.

“Oh, Tohru will be so glad!” Momiji cheered, “Kyo, you seem to be a lot nicer these days!” 

“Wait, what did you say?” Kyo asked, but it was already too late. Momiji had grabbed Young-Hee by the hand and whisked her down the hallway.

He led Young-Hee to Tohru’s room. The door was open and they could see Tohru and Yuki sitting at a floor desk, Tohru’s notebooks open in front of them. Yuki was helping Tohru through what looked like a very difficult math problem.

Momiji took a bit of a deep breath before shouting happily, “Tohru! Kyo is coming to the beach house, too! So you’ve got to get your homework done! You can do it!”

“Oh, that’s really exciting! Okay, I think I got it now! I think I can finish this assignment up on my own now!” Tohru said. She had a very determined look on her face and Yuki nodded.

“Alright, if you’re all set, Miss Honda, then I think I’ll start packing for the trip then”, he said, standing up and exiting the room.

Young-Hee looked down at Tohru doing her summer homework and smiled. She really was the calm in the center of a storm sometimes.

“Alright, Young-Hee! I should bring you back home so we can pack for the trip, too!” Momiji said, leading the way down the hallway and stairs.

Back on the first floor of the home, Shigure was still sitting in the living area. He was fanning himself off.

“Have a nice day, you two!” he waved as they neared the front door.

“Good-bye, Shii-chan! Please let them know that the bus will be here tomorrow morning!” Momiji said, waving.

“Bye, Shigure! See you tomorrow!” Young-Hee also waved.

The two then exited Shigure’s home and left for the Sohma compound.


	11. Off to the Beach House We Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all hustle and bustle getting everyone ready to go to the beach house!

That night, Tohru focused as much of her energy as she could into doing her summer assignments. Yuki often woke up to check on her, help with her assignments, and help her pack for the beach house. When he wasn’t checking on and helping her, Yuki himself was working on packing for the beach house. Kyo also worked hard on packing for the beach, although he didn’t need to pack a bathing suit. (Cats generally don’t like water and the cat of the zodiac was no exception.)

By the very early morning hours, Yuki and Kyo heard a small thump from Tohru’s room. In a panic, the two rushed over to discover Tohru had passed out from exhaustion after working on her assignments all night. She appeared to be in a slightly less than contented sleep, as she muttered something under her breath and looked slightly sad.

The two sighed, then looked at each other, and it could be said that a spark of competitive lightning sparked between them. However, after a moment, the two sighed, put their differences to the side, and decided to cover Tohru up so she wouldn’t get cold sleeping on the floor. Yuki grabbed a pink covered pillow, lifted Tohru’s head, and slipped it underneath. Kyo grabbed the pink comforter and gently draped it over Tohru’s body. The two then quietly snuck back out of the room and back to their own rooms, vowing to never speak of the incident ever.

********

Meanwhile, in Kazuma’s house, the guest bedroom’s light was on and the door closed. Young-Hee had her carry-on luggage bag open on the bed, and she seemed to be having trouble figuring out just what to pack. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, and other things were strewn all over the floor and bed. Nam-Sun herself was buried under a small pile of clothes on the bed.

Young-Hee was rushing all over the room as quietly as she could, attempting to figure out just what she wanted to pack for the beach house. ‘Oh. My. God. What the hell should I pack to go to the beach? I don’t need to pack a swimsuit since I’m a cat and don’t like water, but there should be other clothes I could pack! I just don’t know what!’ she thought to herself, silently freaking out.

The young Korean branch head had never been to the beach, or even a lake, before. The closest she had gotten to the beach was the pond in the park the Park family kept on the premises. She had gone there often, usually with Ha-Jun, so they could sit on the bench and spend time together.

‘Oh! Aha! That’s it! Ha-Jun! I can call him and ask for his advice! He’s always been a bit of a night owl!’ she thought excitedly.

She quickly pulled out her phone and called Ha-Jun, putting her phone on speaker and placing it on the open part of the top of her carry-on luggage bag.

The phone rang a few times before a slightly tired-sounding voice answered, “Hello? Young-Hee? What’s up?”

“Oh, Ha-Jun! Were you sleeping? I’m so sorry to disturb you!” (Young-Hee was instantly feeling bad, coming to the stark realization that Ha-Jun had actually been sleeping.)

“Oh, yawn, don’t worry about it. I was just resting my eyes while I watched some anime I had recorded. What’s up? Missing me again?”

“Well, that and the fact that I desperately need your help! We’re going to the Sohma beach house in the morning and I have no clue what to pack!”

“Oh, Young-Hee, there’s no need to panic for something like that. Just pack some of your normal clothes. It’s not like Akito will be coming there, too, or anything. Just wear what you’d normally wear, and you’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Are you really sure about that? I mean I’ve been getting a lot of really weird stares over the way I dress. I don’t know, maybe I ought to tone it down a little? I also don’t really wanna bake under the hot rays of the sun.”

“Yawn, well that’s up to you. I did help you pack some outfits and clothes that weren’t completely and totally dark. Just pack some of those then, if you’re so worried. But isn’t it a private beach house? You shouldn’t have to worry about getting weird stares.”

“Like I already told you, we’re going to a beach house! So, the sun will be beating down our backs, without any shade unless we bring it with us! I don’t wanna bake! That would look really bad!”

“Okay, alright, alright. Just pack the toned-down outfits then, and you’ll be fine. Be quick about it and then go to bed. Got it?”

“Yea, alright. I got-“

“Wait! Big bro, who’re you talking to?! Is that Big Sis?! I wanna talk to her!!” the sound of a younger boy’s voice suddenly came through on the phone.

Young-Hee immediately smiled, knowing that it was Suk-Chin, the ram of the Korean branch family.

“Oh, hey, Suk-Chin! Are you and Ara getting along well?”

“Oh, Big Sis, it is you! Yea, we’re getting along right now! Hold on, I’ll wake her up! She misses you, too!!! Hey, Ara! Wake up! Big Sis is on the phone!”

After a minute, Ara, the monkey, came on the phone: “Yawn, hi, Big Sis. I miss you. Are you coming home soon?”

Young-Hee smiled as she answered, “Hi, Ara. Well, hopefully I’ll be coming home soon. Are you and your brother getting along well?”

It always made Young-Hee smile whenever she talked or interacted with Suk-Chin and Ara. The ram and monkey were the youngest of the zodiac, being 12-year-old fraternal twins. The two were still in middle school and didn’t have nearly as much to worry about as the other, older zodiac members.

“Aww, well I hope you can come home soon. And yea, Suk-Chin and I are getting along really well! I miss you!”

“That sounds great! I miss you, too. Could you give your Big Bro Ha-Jun the phone again? I just wanna tell him good night.”

“Yes, of course!” Ara cheered, as Young-Hee heard the sound of the phone being handed off to Ha-Jun.

“Ahaha, they’re a bit energetic still. Their parents are off on a weekend getaway and asked me to watch them”, Ha-Jun laughed slightly, “so they’re at my place for the weekend.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll let you go then for now. Sorry about bothering you when you were trying to sleep! Good night!”

“Again, don’t worry about it! Good night!”

Young-Hee hung up the phone and smiled. Talking to Ha-Jun when she was anxious always calmed her right down and brought her back to her senses.

She then took a deep breath and really began packing for the summer house.

********

DING! DING! DING!  
DING! DING! DING!

Young-Hee woke up to the sound of her smartphone alarm going off. 

She yawned and got up off the floor. She had fallen asleep, well more like passed out, on the floor sometime in the very early morning hours, after spending most of the night packing for the summer house.

She stretched out her arms, then stretched her legs, and exited the bedroom. She went into the bathroom, showered, changed, and then headed to the kitchen to eat some breakfast before Momiji arrived to pick her up in the bus.

“Good morning, Young-Hee! How did you sleep? Are you all packed?” Momiji cheerfully and loudly greeted Young-Hee as she walked into the kitchen, surprising Young-Hee greatly.

She almost jumped as she answered, “Oh, um, hi, Momiji. I wasn’t expecting you for a bit longer.”

“Oh, I know but I was just sooooo excited that I couldn’t wait to get everything started! I’ve never been to the beach with everyone before, and so many of the zodiacs are coming! This is going to be so much fun!” Momiji exclaimed cheerfully.

Young-Hee laughed a little as she opened the fridge and dug around for some breakfast.

Noticing Young-Hee digging around, Momiji quickly pulled a seat at the kitchen table for her and cleared his throat slightly, “Ahem, Miss Young-Hee, you may sit down! I’m making breakfast for the both of us again this morning!”

“Oh, Momiji, you don’t have to keep making me breakfast! I really am capable of doing it all on my own! Oh, and it’s not that I don’t appreciate your kindness-!”

“Oh, there’s no need to be like that! I’m making you breakfast because I want to, not because I feel an obligation to do so, or something! So, please, don’t worry about it!” Momiji said, smiling brightly from ear to ear.

“Oh, um, okay, as long as you’re sure about it”, Young-Hee said, hesitantly sitting at the kitchen table. She was starting to feel bad that it seemed more and more like Momiji was taking care of her. She didn’t want to keep putting Momiji out of his way.

After a few minutes, Momiji brought a tray over to the kitchen table and sat down next to Young-Hee. On the tray, was tamagoyaki (Japanese version of an egg omelet) and some miso soup. Young-Hee took in a long whiff of the dishes and immediately dug in with Momiji.

********

Back at Shigure’s home in the woods, Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru were scrambling to eat breakfast and finish packing for the summer house. Shigure watched the three teenagers hurrying busily around his house and sighed. ‘Ah, to be young like that again’, he thought merrily to himself, smiling slightly.

“Hey, Shigure, what are you doing just sitting in the doorway? Don’t you have to pack for the beach house, too?” Yuki had paused at the doorway and noticed his cousin seemingly smiling in an evil manner and was starting to get annoyed.

“Oh, why, my dear Yuki! Haven’t you heard? Didn’t I remember to tell you? I’ll be joining you kids a little later, in a few days. I have some things to take care of first. You know, grownup stuff”, Shigure answered, smiling again.

“Alright, suit yourself then. Just let us know when Momiji and the bus arrives”, Yuki sighed, as he walked away.

Just as the words had finished leaving his mouth, Momiji ran up the stairway and waved to Shigure, “Hey, everyone! The bus has arrived! Are you all ready to go?”

Yuki paused for a moment before running back to the front doorway. He looked at Momiji in what seemed like shock and disbelief. ‘Oh no, we haven’t quite finished packing yet, especially Miss Honda’, he thought to himself, beginning to worry.

Seeing his worried expression and just overall sensing the mood, Momiji ran over and shouted, “Don’t worry! If you guys haven’t finished packing, then we’ll be more than happy to help!”

“Wait a minute! We? What do you mean we?” Yuki asked, quickly looking around and half expecting to see his older, very flamboyant brother.

However, instead of his brother, Young-Hee came up the stairs with Nam-Sun in tow. 

“Hi, everyone!” Young-Hee shouted as she and her cat walked closer and then inside the house.

As soon as she entered the house, Young-Hee could sense the somewhat overwhelming feeling of panic. She could hear the sounds of quickened footsteps coming from upstairs and assumed that it must be Kyo running around his room. She could also observe Tohru running from the kitchen to upstairs, and back down again. And then there was Yuki. He was just standing in the front doorway still, most likely in complete shock and disbelief at what was going on that morning.

After standing and observing the chaos for a moment or two longer, Young-Hee walked up the stairs, grabbing Tohru as she started running up the stairs again. As she grabbed Tohru’s pajama shirt sleeve gently, she said, “C’mon, Tohru. Let’s get you all packed up. The bus is here, and everyone is waiting.”

“Oh, um, hi there, Young-Hee! Are-are you here to help or something?” Tohru said, in a surprised tone. She hadn’t been expecting to see Young-Hee that morning, as she had no idea that Momiji had also invited her along to the beach house.

Just then, Momiji emerged happily from the kitchen and started skipping up the stairs to catch up to Young-Hee and Tohru.

“I’ll help you pack, if you want, Yuki! Otherwise, I’ll go check on Kyo!” he exclaimed cheerfully, as he got to the top of the staircase and started turning toward Yuki’s room.

“Oh, wait! Momiji, don’t go in there! I can pack on my own!” Yuki exclaimed, half in a panic, as he ran quickly up the stairs to catch Momiji. His bedroom was a complete mess and, as such, was in no condition to have any guests in it. Plus, he was a bit embarrassed by how messy it was.

He caught up to Momiji just as he was about to turn the doorknob to enter his bedroom. When Momiji turned to look at Yuki, he cocked his head to the side for a moment then let go of the doorknob and turned to go to Kyo’s room.

“Sorry to bother you, Yuki. I’ll just go check on Kyo then”, Momiji said as he turned.

********

Momiji clapped his hands together and excitedly skipped down the staircase as Young-Hee, Yuki, Kyo, and Tohro followed him. It had taken some time but now everyone was all packed and ready to go to the beach house!

“Just follow us, and we’ll get to the bus in no time! Bye, Shii-chan! See you in a few days!” Momiji shouted cheerfully, as he led the group out of the house and down the stone steps to the streets below.

“Oh, Miss Honda, let me take your bag. We don’t want you tripping or falling down the stairs”, Yuki said, as he put out his hand toward Tohru.

“Thank you so much!” Tohru said, smiling, as she gently handed Yuki her bag and began walking down the stairs.

As the group walked down the stairs, it became awkwardly silent. Momiji was too busy thinking about all the fun things he had planned. Tohru was too busy thinking about how her mother would’ve enjoyed a trip to the beach. Young-Hee was too busy worrying about her fashion for the beach house vacation. Yuki and Kyo were too worried thinking about what Tohru might be thinking about the beach house. In short, everyone was too busy worrying to talk and make conversation.

As the group neared the bottom of the stone stairs, a small bus came into view. It was blue and had the words “Sohma Family Transport” written in kanji on the side, in large black lettering.

Once at the small bus, Momiji knocked on the doors and a man exited the bus. He was wearing a chauffeur’s outfit. He pulled out some keys from his pocket, walked over to the side of the bus, and used the keys to open a door revealing a luggage storage compartment. Inside, was already Momiji’s, Young-Hee’s and some other luggage for the beach house. Yuki and Kyo added their’s and Tohru’s luggage to the compartment and the man closed and locked it up.

As the group turned to get on the bus, a small girl emerged and rushed over to Tohru and hugged her. She appeared to still be in elementary school, had golden colored hair that was done in a bob fashion, amber colored eyes, and was wearing a cute pink summer dress. Her face made her seem like the kind of little girl who was always kind to both people and animals.

As she hugged Tohru, she spoke in a soft, sweet voice, “Sis, hi! I’m so excited to see you!”

Tohru smiled as she hugged the little girl in return and warmly replied, “Oh, hi, Kisa! I’m excited to see you, too!”

‘Ah, so that is the tiger of the main family zodiac. She’s really adorable!’ Young-Hee thought to herself.

“Hey, Kisa! Where’d you go?!” a small boy’s rough voice could be heard shouting from just inside the bus.

As Young-Hee’s curiosity was peaked, she walked toward the entrance of the bus to see a small boy, probably also still in elementary school, beginning to exit the bus. He had spiky brown hair that stood up in multiple directions, brown eyes, and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. His angry expression made Young-Hee smile a bit to herself.

“What are you looking at?” he sneered as he passed her.

‘Oh, wow, he must be the ram then. Quite stubborn, and quick to anger’, Young-Hee thought to herself.

“Hey, Kisa! Where are you?” he shouted again, as he turned toward Tohru and the others.

As soon as he saw Kisa hugging Tohru, an angry expression crossed his face again. He stamped his foot as hard as he could on the pavement, then quickly walked back into the bus.

Noticing what had happened with the little boy, Momiji quickly ran over shouting, “Oh, Hiro! Wait! Kisa is coming in just a sec! Wait up!”

“She can take all the time she wants! It’s not like I’m that important to her!” Hiro shouted angrily from just inside the bus.

“Hiro-chan! Please don’t say that! Why do you always have to say things like that?” Kisa shouted, a tear falling down her face. She had stopped hugging Tohru as soon as she heard Hiro’s angry shout from inside the bus.

But it was too late. Hiro had already gotten back onto the bus and couldn’t hear Kisa’s shouts. 

Kisa ran back to Tohru with tears rolling down her cheeks. Tohru did her best to comfort the little girl as she walked her to the bus, saying, “It’s alright, Kisa! I’m sure Hiro was just a bit surprised to see me, that’s all! Things will be fine!”

Momiji, Yuki, Kyo, Young-Hee and Nam-Sun followed the two onto the bus.

Once inside the bus, Young-Hee found a spot near the back and sat down, patting the seat for Nam-Sun to jump up and sit with her. She wanted a good spot in the back so she could observe the behavior and conversation of the main zodiac members. It could be a good way to learn more about them, their bond, and perhaps even Akito.

Just as she was beginning to settle down and the bus was starting to leave, someone plopped themselves on the seat in front of her and turned toward her. He had white spikey hair with a black undercut, kind light brown eyes, and was wearing goth-type clothing with a bunch of gothy jewelry.

“Hey, what’s up? Haven’t we met before?” he asked Young-Hee, sitting on the bus seat so that he could stretch out his legs.

Young-Hee instantly knew that this was Hatsuharu, the ox of the main zodiac. Seeing him made her feel a bit sheepish. The last time they had met was when she had been wandering the main estate, looking for a very lost and confused Nam-Sun.

“Oh, um, I don’t know. Have we met before?” she asked him, trying to play dumb and act cool at the same time.

“Well, if you can’t remember then maybe we really haven’t met before… Hmmm… it’s a mystery”, Hatsuharu replied.

“Oh, Haru, stop bothering Young-Hee so much, you might confuse her”, Momiji joked, smiling and laughing.

“And, anyway, let’s all talk about what we want to do at the beach house!” Momiji cheered, his smile growing even bigger.

It had become quite clear that Momiji was the most excited about the beach house vacation.

“Well, it’ll be nice to get out and have some fun together”, Yuki replied, with his eyes closed. It made him seem like he was deep in thought.

“Hmm… well let’s see… it’ll be nice to be able to fight Kyo at the beach”, Hatsuharu chipped in.

“Hey, why do you always have to think about fighting me?! Don’t you have a life outside of fighting?! Anyway, I don’t know, it doesn’t look like there’s much I’m looking forward to at the beach”, Kyo quipped back, a bit angry and annoyed about being dragged along.

“Well, I can’t wait to spend time with everyone! This will be so much fun!” Tohru exclaimed, smiling cheerfully.

Kisa nodded before adding in her own answer, “I can’t wait to spend time with Tohru, and Hiro, of course!”

“Oh, yes! This will definitely be a lot of fun! I can’t wait to catch stag beetles and do a watermelon smashing contest!” Momiji cheerfully put in an answer to his own question.

However, Hiro just sat in his seat with a grumpy face, refusing to answer the question.


	12. A Surprise at the Beach House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise visitor awaits the group at the Sohma Beach House!!

The rest of the ride to the beach house was full of much excitement and discussions. Everyone kept up very excited conversation regarding the things they had planned and the things they wanted to do with their beach house vacation. Tohru and Momiji were, of course, the most excited out of all of them. They were abuzz about catching stag beetles and doing watermelon smashing contests. It was quite the sight to see and it made both Young-Hee and Nam-Sun feel very happy and nostalgic.

As the bus roared along the highway, Young-Hee looked around to see what the other Sohma children were up to. She noticed that Hiro was sitting alone, near the middle of the bus. He was looking out the window, with a reflection of his face very visible on the window from the hot summer sun beaming down from outside. She noticed that Hiro had his elbow leaning on the window with his chin resting in his hand, and he seemed to be pouting ever so slightly. It made Young-Hee smile and think about what she had been like when she was Hiro’s age. ‘I was a bit of a brat, too’, she thought to herself.

She scanned through the small bus, looking for Hatsuharu next. She finally found him sitting nearer to the back of the bus, with her, Tohru and Kisa. He had his headphones in and his head down, as he was playing some sort of game on a handheld gaming console. ‘He seems to be enjoying the ride’, she thought to herself.

Sitting in the seat just in front of him was Yuki. He had his head down but it seemed like it was slightly moving in a right to left direction. ‘Ah, he must be reading a good book’, Young-Hee thought.

Sitting across from Hatsuharu was Kyo. He was looking out the window in a similar fashion to that of Hiro but he didn’t seem to be pouting. Finally, Young-Hee turned to look over at Tohru, Kisa, and Momiji again. She gasped slightly and smiled. Kisa had fallen asleep with her head resting gently and comfortably on Tohru’s shoulder. ‘Oh, how cute! She and Tohru must be really close!’ Young-Hee thought to herself.

********

After a few hours of traveling along the highway, Momiji began to get even more excited. It was to the point that he was standing up in his seat, which made Tohru ask him to please sit back down.

“Oh, Momiji, please calm down and sit in your seat! I don’t want you to bump your head or anything!” Tohru exclaimed in a worried voice.

“Oh, don’t worry about me! I have great balance! I won’t fall! And besides! We’re almost there! Look! You can see it just ahead now!” Momiji shouted excitedly, standing up and pointing out the front window of the bus.

Tohru and Young-Hee leaned forward in their seats and put their hands over their eyes slightly, in an attempt to block the rays of the setting sun so they could see better. In the distance, a large house on a hill was just beginning to come into view. It almost looked like a mansion and Young-Hee thought it looked pretty beautiful, especially against the rays of the setting sun.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Momiji asked, his face turning into a deep and genuine smile.

“Yea, it is”, Young-Hee agreed, finding herself staring at the house in awe.

“It really does look beautiful against the setting sun!” Tohru said cheerfully.

“Hey, Momiji! Sit down! You’re going to distract the driver!” Kyo shouted from behind.

He had been listening to Momiji’s excited shouting and was starting to get annoyed from it. 

“No fair! You just want Tohru all to yourself, you big meanie!” Momiji joked, sticking his tongue out at Kyo.

“Why, you! That’s not what I was even talking about! Why do you need to be so stupid and childish?” Kyo shot back.

“Alright, you two. That’s enough. Momiji, please stop teasing the cat. You know he doesn’t like it when you do that”, Yuki sighed, as he looked up from his book, “And please sit down while you’re at it. You’re going to make the driver crash the bus.”

Momiji pouted for a moment longer before finally sitting down for the rest of the ride to the beach house.

********

After a bit longer, the small bus finally pulled up into the driveway of the beach house. As soon as the driver opened the doors, everyone burst out to yawn and stretch their legs. It had been a bit of a drive and they had all decided not to make any stops along the way, so that they could arrive at the beach before dark.

The driver had given the keys to the luggage compartment to Yuki upon request, and he had already opened it. He got his luggage out first then dug Tohru’s out and offered to carry it up to the stairs to the beach house for her. Tohru thanked him warmly and started going up the stairs with him and Kyo, who had just gotten his luggage out of the compartment as well.

Hatsuharu began pulling luggage out and handing it to its owners. Kisa and Hiro both took their luggage, thanked Hatsuharu, and headed up the stairs as well. Momiji took his luggage from Hatsuharu gleefully and started skipping up the stairs with Hatsuharu in tow.

The last to get out of the bus were Young-Hee and Nam-Sun. Perhaps it was because they were the last to get out that they didn’t notice a young man jogging down the stairs and picking their luggage up off the ground.

Thus, next thing Young-Hee knew she was beginning to reach for her luggage when a familiar looking ring-clad hand stopped her. She looked up to see none other than Ha-Jun. He was wearing a Nightmare Before Christmas black t-shirt, black cargo shorts, Nightmare Before Christmas high top sneakers and sunglasses. 

It took Young-Hee and Nam-Sun a good moment before gasping in shock and surprise. They had not been expecting Ha-Jun to be at the main Sohma family beach house, let alone Japan. The last they knew was that he was still in South Korea, taking care of things for them while they were gone.

“Ha-Jun!” Young-Hee exclaimed, looking him up and down and rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, “What the heck?! How are you here?! Why are you here?! Who invited you?!”

Ha-Jun smiled and began laughing slightly as he answered, “Momiji called me a few days ago and asked me if I wanted to come to the beach house. Hey, Momiji!”

Momiji came happily skipping back down the stairs, with a huge smile stretching from ear to ear. He looked like he was very happy with himself.

As he got closer to Young-Hee, Nam-Sun and Ha-Jun, he happily said, “I knew you missed Ha-Jun, so I asked Shigure for his number. Then I called him and asked him to come to the beach house, and to stay for the rest of your visit.”

It took a few moments for Young-Hee to process all this information that she was hearing. But it made her so happy. She had been missing Ha-Jun, ever since arriving in Japan. There had been so many things she had experienced for the first time since arriving and it had always saddened her to think that Ha-Jun wasn’t experiencing them with her.

“Young-Hee? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Ha-Jun asked, still holding her luggage.

“What? Oh! Yes, of course! I’m so happy to see you!” Young-Hee exclaimed, snapping out of her daydreams.

She immediately embraced Ha-Jun in a hug as he bent down slightly, gently and sweetly kissing her.

Seeing them kiss really surprised Momiji as he didn’t know they were a couple. Nevertheless, the kiss didn’t last nearly as long as Young-Hee had hoped for, and she started making her way up the stairs with Ha-Jun, Nam-Sun and Momiji.

********

Everyone had been shown to their rooms and unpacked their luggage, and now they were all gathered in the living room of the beach house. All the main family Sohma kids were very curious about Ha-Jun, the tiger of the Korean branch family, and his relationship to Young-Hee. Momiji had rushed into the house excitedly following Ha-Jun’s and Young-Hee’s kiss to tell everyone about it. Admittedly, Ha-Jun and Young-Hee were now feeling a bit embarrassed about the kiss.

After a few nerve-wracking moments, Momiji popped up from his spot on the floor. He happily and excitedly told the rest of the kids about what had led up to Ha-Jun’s surprise visit.

After finishing his explanation, Momiji sat back down on the floor and then turned to Young-Hee, and asked, “So, are you two dating or something? That kiss really surprised me!”

“Uh, well, actually we’re engaged. We plan to get married in the fall sometime”, Young-Hee sheepishly admitted.

“Yea, we’ve been together a long time”, Ha-Jun sheepishly added on.

There were a few moments of pretty uncomfortable silence. Young-Hee was starting to feel bad as she had never mentioned anything about her and Ha-Jun being engaged before. But it wasn’t like she had been actively or purposely trying to hide it. It was just the subject of dating had never come up in conversation with any of the main Sohma members before today.

After another few moments, Tohru finally broke the uncomfortable silence: “Oh my gosh! That’s so amazing and nice! You two make such a cute couple!”

“Oh, um thanks”, Ha-Jun replied nervously.

“No, seriously! That’s really nice and I also think it was really nice for you to visit! It’s just so sweet!” Tohru gushed, making both Ha-Jun and Young-Hee blush a little.

“Yes, Big Sister is right! This is really sweet of you!” Kisa exclaimed, smiling.

Momiji clapped a little and smiled before saying, “I think it’s just so nice that you two are both zodiac members. You don’t have to ever worry about anything because of that.”

Yuki had a look of slight confusion but didn’t say anything. Hiro and Kyo both scoffed and tried to act like they didn’t care. And Hatsuharu just smiled slightly and said that it was nice of Ha-Jun to come out for a visit.

Their reactions made Young-Hee feel even worse. To her, it seemed like they were annoyed with the fact that she had seemed to be hiding her engagement.

Seeing the worried and guilty-looking expression on her face, Ha-Jun squeezed her hand slightly. He leaned toward her and whispered into her ear, “It’s alright, honey. They aren’t annoyed with you or mad at you. I’ll make us all dinner and things will work out in the end.”

Ha-Jun then got up and walked into the kitchen saying that he was going to make the group a really delicious traditional Korean meal for dinner.

********

Young-Hee and Momiji were busily setting the table in the dining room. They were laying down plates, napkins, and chopsticks. Ha-Jun had been working hard for the past hour to make a good, traditional Korean meal for the group. He knew that Young-Hee was feeling homesick, so he had decided to give her a little taste of home. It would also give the Japanese main family members a chance to experience a little bit of South Korea at the same time.

As she helped Momiji set the table, she constantly took whiffs of the air. It made her smile, feel nostalgic, and got her tongue watering, all at the same time. ‘Wow, this all smells so delicious! I’ve really missed Ha-Jun’s cooking!’ she thought to herself, a huge smile beginning to form across her face.

“Hey! Everyone! Hurry up and wash your hands! Dinner’s ready!” Ha-Jun’s voice coming from the kitchen felt warm and welcoming. It made Young-Hee think about how much she had truly been missing her fiancé since arriving in Japan.

As if to break her of her daydreaming yet again, all the main Sohma family kids rushed into the dining room almost at the same time. They all quickly sat themselves down, mostly in positions in which they would be sitting closest to their favorite. That meant Kisa and Hiro were sitting next to each other, yet also sitting close to Tohru; Kisa had sat herself so she would be between Tohru and Hiro. Of course, Momiji had sat next to Tohru so Kyo begrudgingly sat next to him, with Hatsuharu sitting between him and Yuki.

As Young-Hee wondered where she and Ha-Jun should sit, he called for her from inside the kitchen, “Hey, Young-Hee, would you mind helping me bring out the dishes?”

“Oh, of course! I’ll be right there!” Young-Hee exclaimed as she dashed into the kitchen. 

A few minutes later, Young-Hee and Ha-Jun emerged from the kitchen each holding a couple of platters of steaming-hot food. The group took a small whiff of the aroma and their mouths immediately began watering. The food smelled so good!

As Young-Hee and Ha-Jun set the platters down, Ha-Jun began pointing out what each dish was called:

“This is bulgogi, it’s Korean beef barbecue.” He was pointing to a platter that was filled with strips of softly cooked beef marinated in soy sauce.

“This is Chap Chae, the Korean version of stir-fried noodles.” He pointed to a platter filled with thin, cooked noodles that looked like they had been healthily doused in sesame and soy sauce.

“And this is white sticky rice with kimchi. Kimchi is basically fermented cabbage seasoned with various seasonings. It’s a staple side dish back home in Korea, and it’s Young-Hee’s absolute favorite.” Ha-Jun was pointing to a dish that had white rice topped with white-looking cabbage that looked like it had been doused in red sauce.

Observing everyone’s watering mouths, Ha-Jun exclaimed happily, “Alright! That’s enough with the food introductions! Now let’s all eat!”

He served everyone then Young-Hee and then himself before sitting down next to Young-Hee.

After a few bites, a collective “YUM!” could be heard coming from everyone. Ha-Jun smiled, knowing that he had done a great job with cooking dinner.

He quickly glanced around the table to see what everyone’s reactions were:

Sitting next to him, he could see that Young-Hee was doing her best to eat somewhat slowly. He smiled, figuring that she was probably trying to savor the food as she hadn’t had any Korean food in a while.

Tohru, Kisa, and Momiji were happily digging right in with happy looks on their faces.

Hiro looked like he was trying way too hard to not look like he was overly pleased with the meal. It made Ha-Jun laugh a little to watch Hiro try to put on the pouting act while he ate such delicious food.

Yuki was eating his meal slowly and methodically. Ha-Jun thought that sort of eating method suited Yuki best, as he seemed to be neater and more organized than the others.

Meanwhile, Kyo and Hatsuharu seemed to be having some sort of contest to see who could finish their meal first. That sight definitely made Ha-Jun smile and laugh a little.

As everyone finished their meals, they looked up and over to Ha-Jun. They all had huge smiles on their faces.

“Thank you so much for the meal! We’re all enjoying it so much!” Tohru chimed.

“Yes, where did you learn how to cook so well? It almost seems like a professional made this meal”, Yuki added in.

Ha-Jun looked a bit surprised for a moment before responding, “Well, I’ve always loved to cook so I guess I’ve been doing it from a pretty young age. I guess it’s been a skill that has always just come pretty naturally to me. Plus, Young-Hee loves to eat so that might have been another reason that really motivated me to learn how to cook.”

“Wait, really? Did I really do that?” Young-Hee asked, her mouth full of rice and kimchi.

“Hey, talk after you finish eating. That isn’t a sight you wanna see from a head of a family”, Ha-Jun gently scolded her, “And yea, I guess you’re right. When we were young, you were always pretty hungry, so I guess it helped to motivate me to learn how to cook. So, you would never have to be hungry when you were with me.”

“Oh! That reminds me! I’ve been meaning to ask! How did you two meet and fall in love? Was it at a New Year’s Dinner celebration or maybe some other gathering of your zodiacs?” Momiji asked, truly curious.

Young-Hee and Ha-Jun paused for a moment, looked at each other, and then laughed a bit.

“It’s kind of a long story so we’ll have to tell you guys about it some other time”, Ha-Jun replied.

“Tomorrow then?” Momiji asked, really curious now.

“Yea, tomorrow then”, Young-Hee agreed.

********

Young-Hee looked at the time on her smartphone as she finished getting her pajama top on. The time read 22:00 (10PM).

She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. It had been a long day filled with a lot of surprises, and now she was feeling pretty tired, yet happy at the same time. She smiled, thinking about how happy she was that Ha-Jun was now here in Japan with her. She had been starting to feel lonely and homesick, but his surprise arrival had changed all that.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Hey, Young-Hee, are you dressed for bed yet? I have to brush my teeth”, Ha-Jun’s voice gently echoed from the other side of the closed bathroom door.

“Yea, you can just come in. I still have to brush my teeth, too”, Young-Hee replied. 

Ha-Jun opened the bathroom door and walked in as Young-Hee stepped to the side a little to make room for him. Nam-Sun entered the bathroom with Ha-Jun, having been following him around all day. It made Young-Hee smile slightly as she brushed her teeth. ‘I guess Nam-Sun was really missing him, too’, she thought to herself.

After they finished brushing their teeth, all three exited the bathroom and headed for the bed. As they began climbing into the bed, Ha-Jun leaned in toward Young-Hee and kissed her on the cheek. It made Young-Hee blush a little, as she hadn’t been expecting him to do that.

Seeing her blush, Ha-Jun smiled and said, “Aww, I’m sorry. It’s just that I haven’t seen you in a while and I just wanted to give you a kiss.”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t embarrassed or anything like that. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all”, she replied, as they both climbed into bed and threw the covers over their heads.

After getting comfortable, Young-Hee turned over a bit to look at Ha-Jun who had done the same to look over at her.

“I’m really surprised the family elders allowed you to come. They didn’t give you hell for it, did they?” Young-Hee asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I just said I was going on a personal vacation, but I didn’t tell them where I was going”, Ha-Jun replied, laughing a little. 

“Wait! What? You can’t just lie to them! What are you going to do when they find out?” Young-Hee exclaimed, feeling worried. She really didn’t want Ha-Jun to get in trouble on her account.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, really. Everything will be fine. And if I get in trouble, so be it. It wasn’t your fault. I decided to make the trip. Not you. They won’t get mad at you. Plus, I have good reason for coming out here”, Ha-Jun said.

“And? What’s this supposed good reason?” Young-Hee asked.

“Well, you know I’ve also heard all the same rumors about Akito as you have. And I’m worried about how Akito will react to you and the investigation our elders have started. Things could get messy with Akito and I need to be there to protect you”, Ha-Jun replied, as he clenched his fists slightly. 

It worried him a great deal what would happen between Young-Hee and Akito when they finally met. He had the inkling that Akito might try to bully her or worse. ‘I can’t let anything happen to Young-Hee. She’s just too important to all of us back home’, he thought to himself.

“Oh, well, Ha-Jun. It’s okay. You didn’t need to worry about me. You know I can take care of myself. I’m well trained in taekwondo and karate. I’ll be able to protect myself just fine”, Young-Hee replied, trying to sound reassuring.

“I know you can defend yourself, but I would never be able to forgive myself if the unthinkable ever happened to you”, Ha-Jun sighed.

“Ha-Jun”, Young-Hee said. 

She had never really thought about things from Ha-Jun’s perspective often. And this time had been no different. But hearing the sadness in his voice then made her just about stop dead in her tracks. ‘I could never forgive myself if something were to happen to him, and I’ve always known he’s thought the same of me. But I never really stopped to think about it from his perspective. He must’ve been really worried about me ever since I left. I feel like I’ve been so insensitive this whole time’, she thought to herself, as she laid a hand over her face.

Ha-Jun quickly removed her hand from her face and gently kissed it. He then held it in his own hand for a moment before saying, “Young-Hee, we’ve been together a long time. Remember when we first met? Remember how we were both crying? And remember that promise we made to each other that day?”

Young-Hee turned onto her side, using her elbow and hand to prop her head up. She looked Ha-Jun right in the eyes as she answered, “Of course I remember! I could never forget that day! Because that was the day! That was the day I knew!”

“Yes, that was the day I knew, too. And what was the promise we made to each other?” Ha-Jun replied, still gently holding her hand.

“We promised that day that we would always be by each other’s sides. We promised we would always be together. We promised to be there for each other. We promised the world to each other”, Young-Hee said.

Ha-Jun smiled and said, “Yes, you have remembered. All of it. We promised to always be together, and that means I will always be by your side. I will protect you against anything and everything that tries to harm you. That’s why I came. I came to protect you from Akito.”

“Oh, Ha-Jun”, Young-Hee sighed, “Just don’t hurt Akito. We can’t damage our relationship with the main family. That would certainly lead to the fall of the Korean branch family.”

“As always, you have my word. I won’t hurt Akito. I’ll just get in-between you two if things turn nasty”, Ha-Jun said, holding out his pinky.

Young-Hee smiled and giggled a little, as she offered her own pinky. The two always made pinky promises for things they felt were very important, and this was no exception. To them, it was like bonding them to the promise. And once they pinky promised on something, nothing could ever make them break it. Absolutely nothing.

After making the pinky promise, Young-Hee yawned realizing again just how tired she was. 

“Alright, Ha-Jun, I think it’s time we went to sleep. I’m really tired and I’m sure Momiji has a lot of fun activities planned for the beach starting tomorrow”, Young-Hee yawned, as she turned toward Ha-Jun.

“Oh, yea, I agree. I didn’t realize until just now how tired I am, too”, Ha-Jun replied as he turned toward Young-Hee.

The two looked at each other, gently kissed one another, and then fell asleep.


End file.
